US Gulf:
Repair work stopped travel through the Florida Avenue Bridge, located between Miles 1 and 2 of the East Canal, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Feb. 24. Emergency repairs underway at the West Canal’s Lapalco Bridge were expected to limit navigation between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily through an estimated March 1.
Unplanned repairs at the Black Bayou Bridge blocked weekday navigation from 5-8 a.m. and again from 4-7 p.m., and weekend travel was unavailable at 6-8 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. No expected completion date was reported on Feb. 28.
Guidewall repairs at Bayou Sorrel Lock scheduled into June prompted intermittent outages on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Waits were recorded up to 34 hours during the week.
Dive operations at Colorado Lock that began on Feb. 26 were expected to limit daytime travel through roughly March 6. Intermittent delays were noted in the 5-23 hour range.
Repairs at the Ellender Bridge, at Mile 243 of the West Canal, will prevent the site’s drawbridge from opening from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through April 12. St. Claude Avenue Bridge work concluded on Feb. 24.
Calcasieu Lock will shut from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 6-7 for hydraulic machinery repairs. Bayou Boeuf Lock repairs scheduled to kick off in mid-March will require up to three separate closures lasting four days apiece, sources said. Daytime shutdowns for timber replacement are also anticipated.
Brazos Lock was expected to return from maintenance on Feb. 29, ending a period of daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. closures. Tows were restricted to one loaded barge or two empty barges per pass during the week, forcing delays up to 15 hours.
Port Allen Lock waits were noted up to 41 hours. Boats transiting Industrial Lock waited up to 80 hours to pass, and Algiers Lock delays were reported in a wide 5-28 hour range.
Mississippi River:
Loading drafts were reduced by 10% on travel through the St. Louis area, sources said. Drafts were reduced by 5-10% between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill.
A Feb. 26 grounding forced a shutdown at Miles 408-418 of the lower river, sources said. Upriver travel resumed on Feb. 27, while southbound movements followed on Feb. 28. Channel maintenance in progress at Mile 349 was expected to wrap up on Feb. 29.
Barges loading from the New Orleans area began releasing in February for Upper Mississippi River destinations. Northbound barges will start releases from St. Louis during the first two weeks of March.
Upper river locks are scheduled to open for spring navigation on March 4-16, starting with Lock 17 and concluding with Locks 3-9. For now, Locks 11-16 and 18-20 were scheduled to remain open for weekday lockages between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through March 9, though Lock 19 was closed to daytime travel on Feb. 27-29. Locks 21 and 22 are open for locking 24/7.
Illinois River:
Maximum loading drafts were adjusted down to 9-10 feet on the Illinois Waterway, depending on location and direction of travel. Marseilles Lock will close for miter gate repairs on March 5-6.
Due to falling water levels, lock operators began raising wickets at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock on Feb. 26 and 27, respectively. Delays climbed to nine hours at LaGrange on Feb. 29, while intermittent 5-10 hour waits were posted at Peoria during the week.
Ohio River:
Meldahl Lock travel was delayed up to 21 hours due to a main chamber shutdown, falling from 16-31 hours at last report.
Valve repairs at Greenup Lock are scheduled to run from March 4 through April 12. Planned maintenance at Markland Lock and Cannelton Lock will limit movements through both sites between April 22 and June 7, while Markland Lock will shut again on June 10-28 for miter gate repairs.
Machinery work at Racine Lock will run from June 1 to July 11, and delays are expected at Hannibal Lock from June 15 to Nov. 7 for dewatering and miter gate repairs. Belleville Lock will see alternating 30-day main and auxiliary chamber shutdowns during the second half of the year.
Kentucky Lock, on the Tennessee River, saw delays up to 14 hours during the week, while similar waits were reported at Wilson Lock. The Cumberland River’s Old Hickory Lock will shut overnight on March 18-April 1, ahead of a complete closure scheduled for April 1 through May 9.
Arkansas River:
Van Buren Bridge repairs were pushed back once again, sources said. The 14-day project, previously set to begin on March 11, is now tentatively scheduled for April 15-29. The bridge is located at Mile 300.8 of the Arkansas River.