U.S. Gulf: Fog conditions were much improved on the Gulf last week, shippers said. Scattered reports of 4-6 hour fog-related delays continued, however.
Shippers put Industrial Lock wait times in the 8-18 hour range last week, and Bayou Sorrel Lock waits were said to be nine hours. Passage through Algiers Lock was quoted at three hours, while Port Allen Lock required 5-7 hours to navigate.
Pipeline burial in the West Canal’s Matagorda Bay area (Mile 471) has been extended through March 4, sources said. The area opened to daylight transit on Feb. 18, but navigation will remain unavailable between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. nightly until work concludes.
Harvey Lock and Bayou Boeuf Lock are tentatively scheduled to undergo long-term shutdowns beginning in August. Both projects will involve dewatering the locks, leading to 60-day closures. Bayou Boeuf could still be pushed back to 2018, sources said.
Brazos Lock continued to operate under a fog warning last week.
Mississippi River: Delays at the Chain of Rocks Lock were noted as high as 24 hours on Feb. 21-22, sources said.
Fog delays reappeared on the Upper Mississippi, forcing delays of up to 10 hours per incident. Pickup and drop-offs were expected to lag as a result. Snowfall totaling 6-12 inches forecast for Feb. 23-24 could prompt further delays, sources warned.
Lock 21 operations are scheduled to return to normal on Feb. 28. Transits are currently running on a 70-foot width restriction, forcing triple-wide tows to stage barges and make multiple runs through the lock. Tow haulage equipment is also unavailable, and an assist boat is required for entering and exiting the lock.
Cape Girardeau, Mo., levels were on the rise last week, further clouding the Corps’ planned Thebes, Ill., rock removal project timeline. Depths registered 18.24 feet and rising on Feb. 22, above the 15-foot maximum required by the Corps for work to begin.
Tows bound for the mid-Mississippi River are expected to begin departing the St. Louis area in the first week of March, shippers reported. Upper River locks are set to begin reopening on March 3-4.
The Corps expects the Missouri River to open for the navigation season on April 1.
Illinois River: Foggy conditions persisted in the Illinois waterway, forcing tows into waiting mode for up to 10 hours at a time.
Starved Lock was closed from 8:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 22 for dive operations. LaGrange Lock continued to pass boats without locking last week, but falling water levels forced Peoria to raise its dams, triggering delays of six hours or more.
Miter gate replacement will force intermittent transit shutdowns at Peoria Lock on May 17-30. Starved Rock Lock navigation will be unavailable June 1 through July 7, and LaGrange Lock maintenance scheduled for June 1 through Aug. 29 will trigger width restrictions and intermittent shutdowns.
Ohio River: Fog delays were quoted in the 4-10 hour range for the week, leading to shipper warnings of delayed deliveries.
Dashields Lock quoted average delays in the 10-11 hour range on Feb. 22, while Meldahl Lock waits were called 9-10 hours. J.T. Meyers Lock saw delays of 8-9 hours, and Smithland Lock waits were described up to six hours. Continued high water levels allowed dams to stay down at Locks 52-53, where lock operators passed vessels without locking.
Work on the New Cumberland Lock auxiliary chamber, underway since Feb. 6, is scheduled to run through March 17. Additionally, the main chamber could see intermittent shutdowns, shippers warned. Markland Lock auxiliary chamber transit will be unavailable March 6 through April 26.
Looking ahead, the Meldahl Lock main chamber will go offline for repairs May 1 through Sept. 29, with substantial delays anticipated.
Repairs on the books for Feb. 22 through March 9 for the Cumberland River’s Barkley Lock will likely trigger sporadic transit delays, shippers said. The Allegheny River’s Lock 6 is closed until further notice due to a hydraulic leak, effectively closing the river.
The Monongahela River’s Braddock Lock and Dam river chamber remains unavailable for use due to an ongoing equipment failure. The lock will be closed March 27 through April 28 for repairs. Charleroi Lock will shut down for weekday transit May 14 through June 20 for concrete and ladder repair. Navigation will continue on weekends while the project is underway.
The Tennessee River’s Wilson Lock is operating without traffic signals on both the lock’s upper and lower sides through March 3. Wilson lock is also set to experience 10-hour closures on March 1-3, followed by additional 10-hour shutdowns spanning April 17 through June 8. Kentucky Lock will close to transit March 7 through April 10, and see random delays Feb. 21 through April 30.