US Gulf:
Work underway since Jan. 30 at Calcasieu Lock was scheduled to continue through March 3. Waits were noted in a wide 10-30 hour range on Feb. 14.
Maintenance at Bayou Boeuf Lock, begun on Feb. 6, was expected to wrap up on Feb. 16, ending a run of daytime, Monday-through-Thursday navigation shutdowns. Intermittent waits were recorded up to 12 hours during the week.
Bayou Sorrel Lock guidewall replacement, in progress through March, triggered intermittent weekday travel outages between 6:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., resulting in delays up to 16 hours.
Sources are expecting Algiers Lock repairs to begin sometime in late February and continue for approximately seven weeks. Navigation through the site is anticipated to be unavailable for roughly 20 days, scattered throughout the project. Waits were observed up to 32 hours during the week.
Maintenance and repairs at Colorado Lock blocked travel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., sources said. Corps data put wait times as high as 11 hours.
Navigation through Belle Chasse Bridge, located at Mile 3.8 of the Algiers Canal, is scheduled to be unavailable from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 20, 22, 24, 28, and March 2 due to an ongoing bridge replacement project. More shutdowns are anticipated in late March and April.
Port Allen Lock waits were seen up to 19 hours for the week, while Corps data showed Industrial Lock delays in a 15-22 hour range on Feb. 14. Boats transiting Brazos Lock waited up to 23 hours to pass.
Mississippi River:
Despite the St. Louis river gauge returning a 7.93-foot reading on Feb. 15, sources continued to note the potential for volatile water levels on the upper Mississippi River lasting through the end of March. NWS forecasts predicted levels to remain relatively steady at St. Louis through at least Feb. 29.
As a result of the week’s increased water levels, draft limits returned to normal on southbound travel through the St. Louis and Cairo areas, sources said. Drafts were capped at 9.5 feet one week earlier.
No towing restrictions were reported on the lower river. The NWS issued a flood warning for the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, in effect for the Feb. 15-20 period. Forecasts at the Memphis gauge improved as well, and no longer predicted depths falling below the region’s 5.0-foot Low Stage in February.
The Mel Price Lock and Chain of Rocks Lock main chambers are shut for repairs and maintenance through March 31. Transit is available through both sites’ auxiliary chambers, resulting in delays of 33 hours at Mel Price. Corps data put Chain of Rocks waits as high as 54 hours during the week.
Locks on the upper river are tentatively set to begin reopening for the spring navigation season on Feb. 26, starting with Locks 24 and 25. Movements are currently slated to be fully restored by April 1, weather permitting. Tows destined for Clinton, Iowa, and below began releasing from NOLA earlier in February, sources said, while cargoes headed north of Clinton were expected to begin departures in the third or fourth weeks of the month.
Illinois River:
Rising water levels and melting ice prompted Peoria Lock operators to lower wickets early in the week, sources said, allowing tows to transit through the site’s non-locking navigational pass. LaGrange Lock was expected to follow suit on Feb. 14 or 15.
Marseilles Lock waits were counted up to nine hours. Commercial navigation is projected to be unavailable on the Illinois Waterway June through September due to planned lock repairs.
Ohio River:
The auxiliary chambers at Bellville Lock and Racine Lock are slated to remain shut through Feb. 26 for repairs and maintenance. Racine Lock will see a primary chamber shutdown running Feb. 26 through March 12.
Floating mooring repairs underway at JT Meyers Lock, scheduled to continue through Aug. 20, will necessitate intermittent main chamber closures, sources said. The Dashields Lock primary chamber was reported offline on Feb. 16-18. Sources expected the Hannibal Lock primary chamber to close to navigation Feb. 20 through April 7.
The Greenup Lock main chamber will shut March 12 through April 12. The auxiliary chamber at Melville Lock is slated to close for repairs and maintenance April 17 through Aug. 4.
Sources reported planned intermittent shutdowns for the Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock on Feb. 13-17. Corps data put Kentucky Lock delays in a wide 5-16 hour range through the week, while boats waited up to 35 hours to pass Wilson Lock.