U.S. Gulf:
Long waits persisted through the Bayou Sorrel Lock
area for the week after a tow collided with the Bayou Sorrel Bridge on March
23. Travel through the bridge was halted through March 25, but delays up to 45
hours continued to be reported on March 29.
The collision and resulting shutdown exacerbated
previously reported delays at Bayou Sorrel Lock, where maintenance and repairs
are scheduled through April 7. Lock access is reportedly unavailable daily
between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. while work is underway. An additional daytime
shutdown was scheduled to run from April 21 through May 15.
The Corps was expected to clear backups in the Bayou
Sorrel area prior to the resumption of Gross Tete Bridge repairs, located two
miles from the Bayou Sorrel Bridge at the Port Allen Route’s Mile 36. Work at
Gross Tete began on March 15 and was projected to run through May 15, blocking
navigation daily from 12:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., and from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00
p.m.
Harvey Lock is slated to undergo a total shutdown from
April 5 through May 21 due to repairs scheduled at the nearby 4th
Street Bridge. Traffic will detour through Algiers Lock while the effort is
underway, leading sources to predict increased wait times at Algiers.
A daylight-hour maintenance project kicked off at
the Colorado Locks system on March 23 and was expected to intermittently block
traffic daily, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., through April 2. Sporadic delays
were reported up to 15 hours for the week.
Towing limits continued through Port Allen Lock,
sources said, due to guidewall damage sustained during a January barge
collision. Westbound tows with barge
counts of two or more units were obligated to use an assist vessel while
locking, while those towing one barge or fewer were permitted to lock without
assistance. All eastbound tows measuring 650 feet or longer were required to
utilize an assist vessel. Intermittent waits were noted up to 12 hours for the
week.
Restrictions
also persisted through Algiers Lock, limiting unassisted tows wider than 60
feet to 600-foot lengths. Tows measuring less than 60 feet were green-lit on
lengths up to 700 feet. The restrictions limited unassisted tows to four
standard barges or two 30,000 mt tankers per turn, sources said, although
lockages of larger cargoes were possible when accompanied by an assist vessel. Most
delays were quoted in the 5-10 hour range for the week, although intermitted
stoppages were heard up to 26 hours.
Intermittent
overnight fog delays were reported for travel on the East and West Canals, with
delays likely to continue in the week ahead.
High
water conditions continued to impact movements above New Orleans, reducing the typical
25-barge maximum towing capacity by 5-10 cargoes. The river gauge at Baton
Rouge, La., was reported at a minor-flood 36.04 feet and rising on March 29,
with a crest of 37.5 feet expected on April 3, just shy of the 38-foot
moderate-flood stage. The gauge was expected to remain at flood stage through
at least April 12, and a Flood Warning issued on March 28 for the Mississippi
River at Red River Landing was set to expire on April 18.
Boats
passing Industrial Lock experienced intermittent 9-16 hour delays for the week,
while Calcasieu Lock waits were posted up to 11 hours. Sporadic Brazos Lock
crossings were heard as high as 10 hours.
Mississippi River:
Upper Mississippi River lock access continued to
expand for spring navigation, with sources reporting movement as far north as
Lock 2 during the week. No travel was recorded at the Twin Cities-area Lock 1
through 5:00 p.m. on March 31.
Sources described loose plans for a Lock 2 shutdown
at some point in July. The project is expected to spark 4-12 hour navigation
delays while work is underway. Lock 25 will also see 12-hour shutdowns in July
and August for repairs to the lower guidewall, sources said. Movement is
expected to be limited from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily as a result.
Improving river levels at St. Louis were projected
to ease restrictions in the coming days, sources said. Towing limits remained
in place on March 29, however, with maximum barge counts noted at 20 units on
travel between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., down from the usual 25.
High water continued to be observed south of Cairo, resulting
in tows slashed to 15-20 barges from the typical 25. Vicksburg, Miss., river levels
were reported at a minor-flood 44.18 feet and rising on March 30, and were expected
to remain at flood stage through at least April 13. A March 29 Flood Warning in
effect for the Mississippi River at Greenville, Arkansas City, Vicksburg, and
Natchez was scheduled to expire on April 14.
Intermittent 5-7 delays were reported at Lock 27 for
the week.
Illinois River:
Wickets remained down at Peoria Lock and LaGrange
Lock due to elevated water levels, sources said, facilitating lockless
navigation at both sites.
Ohio River:
The
Greenup Lock main chamber was shut through March 24 for miter gate machinery
repairs, forcing traffic to detour through the secondary chamber. The Greenup
auxiliary chamber is scheduled to shut for repairs through April 11, with
delays of up to six hours reported for the week.
Meldahl
Lock’s main chamber is scheduled to close from April 12 through June 11 for
miter gate repairs and maintenance. Traffic will pass through the smaller
auxiliary chamber, with delays expected.
Following
the discovery of structural damage to the Markland Lock auxiliary chamber in
early 2020, the chamber is projected to remain closed to navigation through an
estimated Oct. 29. Traffic has continued to pass through the main chamber, with
few reported delays.
Smithland
Lock is scheduled to conclude a two-month auxiliary chamber repair project on
April 1. The project kicked off on Feb. 1 and has seen consecutive 30-day
shutdowns of the lock’s two backup locking chambers, sources said.
The
secondary chamber at New Cumberland Lock has reportedly shut down through June
10 for repairs and maintenance, with boats passing through the primary chamber.
The main chamber at Cannelton Lock is slated to go offline from June 21 through
Nov. 19 for repairs and maintenance. Sources are predicting substantial delays
while work is underway.
Increased
flows continued to allow tows to transit Olmsted Lock via the non-locking
navigational pass.
Treacherous
operating conditions on the Tennessee River prompted some shippers to
voluntarily move to a daylight-only operating schedule during the week, sources
said, slowing movements and stretching pickup and delivery windows. Kentucky
Lock delays were quoted in the 3-12 hour range for the week.
A
complete travel shutdown was reported at the Cumberland River’s Cheatham Lock
due to high flows through the site. Flows were 60 percent above the lock’s
maximum safe capacity on March 29, suggesting a minimum weeklong closure.
Cheatham
Lock is scheduled to shut for bio-acoustic fish fence (BAFF) maintenance from April
3 through June 3. The Corps is scheduled to pass waiting vessels on April
23-26, May 7-10, and May 21-24. Daylight-hour transit interruptions reported
during the week at Barkley Lock were scheduled to conclude on April 2.
Arkansas River:
High water on the Arkansas River was reported to trigger
towing restrictions during the week. Tows typically measuring up to 12 barges
were capped at nine barges, sources said, delaying per-barge delivery times by
an average 25 percent. Sources expected the limits to remain in effect through
at least mid-April.
David D. Terry Lock is scheduled to undergo a
complete shutdown from Aug. 27 through Sept. 9 for dewatering and repairs. In
preparation for the shutdown, sporadic navigation stoppages are anticipated on
Aug. 16-26.
