U.S. Gulf:
Harvey Lock is set to close to navigation from April
5 through May 21 due to scheduled repairs to the 4th Street Bridge,
located adjacent to the lock. Detours will be made through Algiers Lock while
the project is underway.
The Colorado Floodgates were scheduled to undergo daily
shutdowns from March 23 to April 2, blocking transit between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30
p.m. Waits were reported up to five hours on March 23.
Damage sustained from a barge collision at Leland
Bowman Lock was expected to prompt some creative locking from the Corps in the
near term. Delays were expected, as plans called for lock operators to use the
site’s eastern gate as a water control structure while leaving the western gate
open at all times. In response, wait times through the site were quoted spiking
above 30 hours for the week.
Daytime navigation interruptions continued through
Bayou Sorrel Lock. Most waits fell in the 4-9 hour range, although sources
reported intermittent delays as high as 24 hours for the week. The closures,
set to conclude on April 7, are scheduled to repeat from April 21 to May 15.
Restrictions
on towing continued to be reported through Port Allen Lock due to guidewall
damage resulting from a January barge collision. Westbound vessels were allowed
to lock without assistance when towing one barge or fewer, while tows moving
westward with two or more barges were required to utilize an assist vessel.
Eastbound tows longer than 650 feet were also required to use assistance.
Sources described waits falling in a wide 3-12 hour range.
The Gross Tete Bridge, located at Mile 36 in the
Port Allen Route, will see limited navigation through May 15 due to drawbridge
repairs that kicked off on March 15. Navigation through the site was limited to
the hours of 10:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m. through 12:00 a.m.,
sources noted, with 6-12 hour delays anticipated.
Towing
restrictions persisted at Algiers Lock, limiting unassisted 60-foot-wide tows
to a maximum 600 feet of length. Tows with widths under 60 feet were permitted
to pass without assistance on lengths up to 700 feet. The limits set maximum
unassisted locking capacity to four standard barges or two 30,000 mt tankers
per turn, although larger lockages were reportedly available with the use of an
assist boat. Most waits were noted below 10 hours, although intermittent delays
peaked above 24 hours on March 22-23.
Sources described sporadic rain and wind delays on
the East and West Canals during the week. The weather was predicted to impact
loading and unloading operations as well.
High water limited barge counts on Gulf movements
above New Orleans, cutting tows by 5-10 barges from the usual 25-barge limit.
River levels at Baton Rouge, La., were nearing the 35-foot minor-flood stage on
March 23. A flood warning issued on March 22 by the National Weather Service
for the Mississippi River at Red River Landing was scheduled to remain in
effect through April 12.
Industrial
Lock waits were quoted at 5-15 hours for the week. Intermittent Bayou Boeuf
Lock delays fell in the 3-9 hour range, while Brazos Lock waits were described
up to 13 hours.
Mississippi River:
The upper Mississippi River’s Lock 25 returned to
operation on March 22, marking a spring reopening of the upper river through at
least Lock 8. Lock 2 was scheduled to resume operation on March 19, but
reported no lockages as of March 24.
High water levels at St. Louis and below prompted
ongoing travel restrictions on the lower river, sources reported. Tow lengths
were reduced to 20 barges on travel between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., down
from the usual 25 barge loads, while sources described 5-10 barge reductions
from Cairo to the Gulf.
The St. Louis gauge fell below the 28-foot action
stage to 23.56 feet on March 24, but Vicksburg, Miss., levels were poised to
move above the 43-foot minor-flood threshold on March 24.
Dike
work planned for the lower river’s Mile 770 remains on track to commence in
late March. Once begun, the project is expected to block southbound travel daily
from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. through late April. Mat-sinking operations reported
at Mile 356 were expected to drive intermittent slowdowns in the southbound
direction between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily.
Lock 21 delays were posted up to five hours. Sources
quoted Lock 25 waits in a wide 6-18 hour range for the week, while Lock 27
passages were generally noted at 4-10 hours.
Illinois
River: Utica
Bridge (Mile 230) demolition, delayed from the original Feb. 17 schedule due to
cold weather, was finally executed on March 18, blocking navigation through the
area for approximately 24 hours.
Wickets were reported in the
lowered position at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock, allowing tows to transit
both sites without locking.
Ohio River: Greenup Lock
primary chamber repairs, underway since Feb. 19, were extended through March 24
from the previous March 5 scheduled end. Traffic has been routed through the
secondary chamber while the project is underway, triggering reported delays up
to 11 hours for the week. Auxiliary chamber repairs previously set to begin on
March 11 were pushed back to March 25.
The Meldahl
Lock main chamber is slated to close from April 12 through June 11 for miter
gate machinery repairs, prompting detours through the site’s 600-foot auxiliary
chamber. Delays are expected while work is underway.
The secondary lock chamber
at Markland Lock, shut since early 2020, is likely to remain closed to
navigation through Oct. 29 due to cracks in the miter gate, sources said.
Transit was reportedly available through the primary chamber, with minimal
delays reported.
A Smithland Lock secondary chamber repair and
maintenance project underway since Feb. 1 is scheduled to end on April 1,
returning both of the site’s auxiliary units to full operation.
Sources said the New Cumberland Lock auxiliary chamber
is shut through June 10, but navigation remains available through the main
chamber. Primary chamber repairs scheduled at Cannelton Lock were expected to
prompt substantial delays between June 21 and Nov. 19.
High water allowed lockless travel at Olmsted Lock for
the week, sources said.
The Tennessee River’s Pickwick Landing Lock returned
to normal operating hours on March 19. The site was previously shut to daytime
navigation on March 4. Kentucky Lock wait times were noted up to 18.5 hours for
the week.
Bio-acoustic fish fence (BAFF) repairs at the
Cumberland River’s Barkley Lock began on March 22, halting daylight-hour
navigation through the site. BAFF work scheduled for April 3 through June 3 at
Cheatham Lock will trigger lengthy delays, sources said. The Corps is expected
to open Cheatham to waiting vessels on April 23-26, May 7-10, and May 21-14.
Arkansas
River: The Arkansas River’s Lock 3 was scheduled to conclude structural testing
on March 20, ending a period of intermittent delays and shutdowns that began on
March 12.
David D. Terry Lock will
shut for dewatering and repair operations from Aug. 27 through Sept. 9. Prior
to the shutdown, intermittent delays are expected on Aug. 16-26.
