US Gulf:

Harvey Lock travel has remained unavailable since Oct. 2 due to low water conditions on the lower Mississippi River. A guidewall replacement project underway since Aug. 1 at Bayou Sorrel Lock blocked Monday-through-Friday travel intermittently between 6:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., with 24-hour movements resuming on Saturdays and Sundays. Work at the site was scheduled to continue into March 2023.

Due to the presence of exposed underwater pipelines, traffic was completely halted through the Atchafalaya River’s Little Island Pass, Middle Island Pass, and Riverside Pass during the week. Detours were available through the Port Allen Route.

Restrictions on tow lengths and widths remained in place on unassisted lockages at Algiers Lock, sources said, limiting vessels traveling without industry assistance to four standard barges or two 30,000 mt tankers per turn. Larger lockages were possible with the use of an assist tug. Corps data showed wait times at 26 hours on Nov. 7.

Dredging in the New Orleans Harbor was scheduled to wrap up on Nov. 7. Port Allen Lock delays were reported up to 40 hours during the week, while boats transiting Industrial Lock saw 9-12 hour wait times on Nov. 6-7. Intermittent Colorado Lock waits were noted in the 6-12 hour range.

Mississippi River:

Historic low water levels on the lower Mississippi River continued during the week, limiting the industry’s ability to move products on the Eastern River System.

Draft limits for solid cargoes have remained at 9.0 feet since Oct. 17 in both the northbound and southbound directions on the full length of the waterway, a 25-30% reduction from normal limits, while liquid cargoes were capped at 8.5 feet of draft. Localized draft limits were heard as low as 7.0 feet for loading and unloading.

Tows were reduced to a maximum 25 barges on southbound travel, below the typical 30-40 cargo limit, depending on region. Combined with draft limitations, carrying capacity on some tows was reduced by more than 50% from normal levels, sources said.

Oceangoing vessel drafts were reduced to 41 feet from 45 feet at the Port of Baton Rouge, La.

River levels at Vicksburg, Miss., rose to 4.19 feet on Nov. 9, although depths remained below the five-foot Low Stage threshold. The Memphis, Tenn., gauge stood at (-)8.5 feet, also below that area’s five-foot Low Stage, while the St. Louis gauge climbed to 2.35 feet from the week-ago (-)0.45 feet. St. Louis was expected to fall below 0.0 feet on Nov. 16, while Vicksburg and Memphis were both projected to hold at Low Stage through Nov. 22.

Dredging started on Nov. 6 at Stack Island, located at Miles 485-486, and was expected to run through approximately Nov. 14, closing the area up to 48 hours at a time.

Revetment work at Mile 344 prompted daily travel shutdowns between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., and is expected to run through Nov. 17. The project was slated to relocate to Mile 336 on Nov. 17-25. A safety advisory is in place at Miles 228-230 due to repairs in progress at the I-10 bridge. Pipeline removal at Mile 189 was scheduled conclude on Nov. 8.

Dredging at the upper river’s Mile 184 closed the area to overnight travel, prompting delays up to 23 hours at Chain of Rocks Lock. Work was slated to run through approximately Nov. 14. Wait times at Lock 22 were reported up to 10.5 hours.

Illinois River:

Sources noted raised wickets at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock again during the week due to low water levels, forcing lockages through both locations. Wait times were noted at 3-7 hours at LaGrange Lock. Travel through Dresden Island Lock saw delays in the 4-11 hour range.

Ohio River:

Low water conditions continued on the Ohio River, resulting in nine-foot draft restrictions on the river’s full length. Nine-foot draft limits were reported in effect for the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers as well.

Dredging in progress at Miles 965-974 forced staggered one-way travel restrictions through the Mound City, Mo., area, sources said.

Replacement of the main chamber miter gate at Cannelton Lock was expected to conclude on Nov. 11. The project has forced all navigation through the auxiliary chamber, triggering delays in a wide 26-54 hour range during the week.

The main chamber at Montgomery Lock is shut through Dec. 16 for repairs and maintenance. Tows detouring through the secondary chamber reportedly faced 2-4 day waits during the week, up from 2-3 days in the prior report. Belleville Lock waits were noted up to 24 hours.

Arkansas River:

Norrell Lock remains closed to daytime navigation through Nov. 20, blocking travel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., while overnight lockages were limited to 70-foot widths. The lock is scheduled to shut completely to navigation on Jan. 30-31, 2023.