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.