Work on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project stopped again in late July while the Trump administration carried out another administrative review. The $1.15 billion barrier system is meant to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes, and Illinois officials said they learned of the latest halt on July 24.
The project is planned for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, about 40 miles southwest of Lake Michigan. Its design uses electric, acoustic and bubble deterrents as part of a layered defense against invasive species.
Renee Snow on July 30
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Interim Director Renee Snow wrote on July 30 that state officials learned of the stoppage from associates of a construction contractor working on the project. She said that gap in notice followed an earlier pattern of shifting federal control over the work.
The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is a partnership among the federal government, Illinois and Michigan. After May 9, 2025, nearly $114 million was awarded for initial construction components, following a memorandum from President Donald Trump ordering his administration to expeditiously implement the most effective mechanisms, barriers and other measures to keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.
April transfer to Detroit
Work resumed in April after the administration moved authority from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Rock Island District to the Detroit District. In an April 9 statement, the Army Corps said the transfer would ensure the project progresses in closer coordination with the state of Michigan.
That restart did not hold. The latest stoppage came after the project had already largely stopped in December 2025, when the Trump administration ordered an administrative review, leaving the barrier work back in pause mode again.
Pritzker and Golder
On July 30, J.B. Pritzker said, "The Great Lakes provide drinking water to more than 40 million people and support a $52 billion regional economy," and added, "It's time for the Trump Administration to uphold the federal government's obligations, stop playing political games, and move this project forward."
Michigan Department of Natural Resources spokesman Ed Golder said, "We are working to understand the reasons construction has been halted on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project for federal administrative review," and added that Michigan "continues to remain committed to supporting the completion of the project to protect the Great Lakes and inland lakes and streams throughout the basin from invasive carp."
The next question is whether the administrative review ends the pause or extends it, because the work stoppage leaves the barrier system waiting at the point where federal, Illinois and Michigan partners have already spent months moving it forward.
