U.S. Gulf:
Overnight fog conditions reportedly caused slowdowns and outright stoppages throughout the Gulf during the early week. Forecasts were said to show improved conditions heading into the weekend.
An emergency shutdown reported at Harvey Lock on Dec. 6 was noted prompting detours through Algiers Lock. Ongoing travel restrictions reported through Bayou Boeuf Lock limited weekday movements to the hours between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The Corps resumed 24-hour access on Saturdays and Sundays, however.
Floodgate construction restricted movements through Bayou Chene to daytime hours only, a Coast Guard posting indicated. The waterway was open to navigation daily between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., while tow lengths were limited to 600 feet. Strings larger than 54 feet wide were required to travel with an assist vessel. Delays were reported in the 6-12 hour range.
Travel near Morgan City via the Atchafalaya River travel was restricted due to shoaling reported at Miles 113-116. Drafts were capped at 10 feet, while total vessel dimensions were limited to 600 feet of length and 70 feet of width. Tows running longer than 400 feet were strongly encouraged to use an assist tug. Vessels could bypass the restrictions via a detour through the Port Allen Route.
Vessels transiting Algiers Lock continued to see size constraints, essentially limiting unassisted tows to four standard barges or two 30,000 mt tankers. Tows with larger dimensions were able to transit when accompanied by an assist vessel.
Ongoing construction efforts at Belle Chasse Bridge were expected to trigger intermittent delays up to 12 hours. Located near Algiers Lock, at Mile 3 in the West Canal, the effort is slated to continue through late 2022.
Port Allen Lock waits were noted up to 55 hours for the week. Boats passing Bayou Sorrel Lock saw wait times up to 12 hours, while Industrial Lock navigation was intermittently delayed by 10 hours at a stretch. Sporadic Brazos Lock waits were reported in the 6-14 hour range.
Mississippi River:
The Corps had largely concluded channel reinforcement disruptions at Victoria Bend, located at Mile 595 in the lower Mississippi River, as of Dec. 7. Work was said to continue, although navigational impacts were projected to be minimal going forward.
Dredging underway at Mile 591 continued to limit movements, however. Southbound travel resumed on the morning of Dec. 7 following a multiday stoppage, with more than 70 vessels queued to pass the site on Dec. 7. Tows traveling in the upriver direction were expected to begin transits on Dec. 8-9, at the discretion of the Dredge Hurley, with loads reportedly limited to 40-42 barges.
An unspecified incident temporarily halted lower river travel at Mile 541 on Dec. 7.
Low water levels in the St. Louis area necessitated draft restrictions on lower river travel, with northbound drafts capped at 10-11 feet at various sections of the waterway. Southbound vessels were limited to 11-11.5 feet. The National Weather Service (NWS) river gauge at St. Louis returned a (-)0.05 foot reading on Dec. 8. Levels were projected to descend to (-)2.5 feet on Dec. 18-20.
Bridge maintenance at the upper river’s Mile 309.9 reportedly closed the area to navigation on Dec. 6-9, between 7:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Upper river locks 1-10 were shut for the winter navigation season. Lock 15 is scheduled to close for seasonal maintenance on Jan. 1. Lock 24 is also slated to shut for one month, starting on Jan. 1.
Lock 15 is due to return to service on March 3, followed by Lock 5 and Lock 7 on March 11. Locks 5A, 8, and 10 are tentatively set to resume lockages on March 17, while Lock 4 is expected to return for the spring on March 21.
Seven-hour delays were noted through Lock 27 during the week.
Illinois River:
With wickets raised at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock due to low water levels, delays through Peoria Lock reportedly climbed to as high as 10 hours for the week. The Corps counted wait times at nearly 16 hours through LaGrange Lock on Dec. 6-7.
Brandon Road Lock is scheduled to undergo a repair and maintenance project from May 9 through Sept. 8. Daytime navigation is anticipated to be unavailable May 9 through Aug. 14, while overnight movements will be limited to 70-foot widths. The Lock is scheduled to shut entirely from Aug. 15 to Sept. 4. Overnight-only navigation will return on Sept. 5-8.
Ohio River:
Emergency hydraulic repairs were noted shutting the Markland Lock main chamber on Dec. 4-8. Traffic was forced to lock solely through the smaller auxiliary chamber, resulting in delays of 5-22 hours through the period.
The primary lock chamber at Montgomery was reported offline through Dec. 22 for repairs and maintenance. Tows have been forced to lock one barge at a time through the site’s secondary chamber, with long waits of 5-7 days reported.
An ongoing Hannibal Lock main chamber repair project was scheduled to wrap up on Dec. 10, ending a spate of secondary chamber-only travel that began on Oct. 29. A second round of repairs proposed by the Corps would see the main chamber shut between July 5 and Oct. 8 next year.
Access to the auxiliary chamber at Dashields Lock remained unavailable for the week due to an obstructed miter gate. Despite the closure, minimal delays were reported.
A proposed Cannelton Lock repair would see the site’s primary chamber closed to navigation from July 5 through Nov. 11, 2022, forcing traffic through the site’s secondary lock chamber.
On the Tennessee River, the Corps has extended a Kentucky Lock miter gate repair project through Dec. 14, four days beyond the original Dec. 10 plan. Tows were projected to detour through Barkley Lock and the Barkley Canal while the project is underway. Limited to 12-barges per tow, the detour was expected to add 1-2 days of transit time in each direction.
The main chamber at Wilson Lock is tentatively set to shut for repairs from Feb. 23 through April 28, 2022, forcing boats to pass via the site’s secondary chamber. One main chamber opening is currently scheduled during the project, on April 1-3.
The Corps announced a round of maintenance at the Cumberland River’s Barkley Lock, expected to block main chamber access daily from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., on Jan. 15-30, 2022. Maintenance proposed for Cheatham Lock would necessitate some level of navigational disruption between May 16 and Aug. 4, 2022.
Lock 6 on the Allegheny River is closed indefinitely due to a damaged miter gate anchorage.