U.S. Gulf: Port Allen Lock continued to see reduced availability for the week, with five-hour waits reported and an 11.8-foot water differential between the lock’s river and canal gauges. Additionally, dredge operations closed navigation between 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 21.
Transit at the Charenton, East Calumet, and West Calumet Floodgates was unavailable due to high water. Wait times were called four hours at Bayou Sorrel Lock.
Industrial Lock dewatering operations scheduled through Nov. 27 will allow for “extensive” repairs and machinery maintenance, shippers said. Dredging at Baptiste Collette Bayou, which is part of the official detour route connecting the Mississippi River to the West Canal, has restricted the channel to 75 feet of navigable width, requiring vessels to contact the dredge to confirm compliance prior to passing. Delays were anticipated, with doublewide tows expected to experience the longest waits.
Daytime dredging and debris removal continued to block West Canal navigation at the Galveston Causeway Railroad Bridge (Miles 357-358), closing the site from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. The work is being conducted on a 12-days on, two-days off cycle, shippers said, allowing for unimpeded passage during non-work hours.
Shippers estimated delays in the 4-8 hour range last week at Brazos Lock. Eleven vessels were queued to lock on Sept. 21.
Lower Mississippi River: A five-month dike project set to begin Sept. 26 in the Lake Providence area is expected to trigger navigation delays. The current late-January 2017 estimated end date could be extended should high water-related work stoppages prove necessary, shippers said.
Upper Mississippi River: High flows on the Mississippi River triggered restrictions on southbound transit out of St. Louis, shippers reported, limiting tows to 20 barges or less. High flows and missing buoys cut navigation to daylight hours only between Cairo, Ill., and Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Rock removal at Thebes, Ill., will commence when levels recede to the 15-foot mark at Cape Girardeau, and daytime navigation slowdowns are anticipated daily once work begins. The Cape Girardeau gauge read 27.62 feet on Sept. 22.
Navigation at Locks 14 and 15 returned to normal on Sept. 13 after the Coast Guard freed an anhydrous ammonia barge aground at Mile 491, near Campbell’s Island.
Illinois River: Levels on the Illinois Waterway fell below minor flood stage last week. The Havana gauge remained above the 13-foot action stage at 13.26 feet, however, while Beardstown matched its action stage with a 13.0-foot reading on Sept. 22. National Weather Service forecasts predicted up to five inches of rainfall along the river in the coming days.
The Corps noted Starved Rock Lock delays of up to three hours. Dams were down at the Peoria and LaGrange Locks, allowing vessels to run the pass.
Ohio River: Sources continued to report navigation interruptions and equipment malfunctions at Lock 52 last week. A number of non-functioning wickets at the site have handicapped main chamber operations and closed the auxiliary unit, pushing delays to five hours or more. The Corps had not offered an estimated time of completion for the repairs as of Sept. 20.
Lock 52 main chamber cell banding maintenance originally scheduled for Sept. 5-16 and Sept. 19-30 was delayed indefinitely, one contact said. Locking was suspended at Lock 53, allowing vessels to pass freely. Congestion nevertheless stretched transit times to three hours.
The Corps continued to enforce locking through the riverside chamber at Olmsted Lock. Tows were capped at 15 barges, with no hip barges permitted in the chamber.
Maintenance delayed navigation at Montgomery Lock by 2-10 hours. Work at the site will restrict main chamber transit to overnight hours only through Nov. 17, with access permitted 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., subject to an 80-foot width restriction.
The Montgomery auxiliary chamber was available during daylight hours, although lockings were limited to a single barge per turn. The main chamber is scheduled to reopen temporarily on Oct. 1-2, Oct. 15-16, and Oct. 29-30, and was available for transit on Sept. 17-18.
Willow Island Lock repairs and maintenance scheduled for Sept. 6 through Oct. 1 caused intermittent service interruptions, shippers said. Miter gate repair will close the R.C. Byrd Lock auxiliary chamber Oct. 3 through Dec. 9.
On the Tennessee River, Kentucky Lock upstream guide wall repairs will force sporadic shutdowns Oct. 4-9, followed by a complete closure on Oct. 9-13. Additional maintenance scheduled for Oct. 19 through Nov. 19 will also result in intermittent closures, sources said. Shippers are able to use Barkley Canal as an alternate route.
The Allegheny River remained indefinitely closed to transit at Lock 6 due to a mechanical failure and hydraulic leak, shippers said.
Barge restrictions continued at the Monongahela River’s Liberty Street Bridge. Tow lengths were capped at 800 feet, with widths restricted to 105 feet or less. Speed limits were also in place, shippers said. The Braddock Lock and Dam river chamber is offline until further notice due to equipment failure, forcing vessels through the land chamber instead.