U.S. Gulf:
With water levels holding above the crucial 12-foot mark, restrictions remained in effect at New Orleans during the week. The river gauge was posted at 13.36 feet and holding on March 22. Forecasts predicted levels to fall back to the 12-foot mark on April 4.
Calcasieu Lock on March 22 kicked off a period of daytime travel shutdowns, limiting Monday through Thursday movements weekly between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The project was scheduled to run through May 19, with significant delays expected.
Daylight-hour movements were unavailable through Brazos Lock on weekdays due to ongoing lock maintenance. Navigation was unavailable Monday through Friday, between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Delays were reported up to nine hours during the week. Sources expected the closures to continue into May.
A Bayou Sorrel Bridge repair project is slated to limit daytime navigation through the lock until the end of May. Weekday shutdowns were scheduled to run from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and from 1:00 p.m. through 5:00 p.m., with normal transit hours returning on weekends.
Weekday delays were also reported at Bayou Sorrel Lock due to guidewall replacement work in effect through February 2023. Waits were reported in the 24-48 hour range through the week.
Bayou Chene travel remained unavailable during overnight hours due to floodgate construction. A Coast Guard notice described the waterway as shut nightly between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., while navigation remained available during daytime hours, subject to a maximum 600 feet of length and 54 feet of width. Configurations measuring wider than 54 feet were required to utilize an assist vessel. Wait times were expected in the 6-12 hour range.
Shoaling at Miles 113-116 of the Atchafalaya River necessitated 10-foot draft limits through the area, according to Coast Guard information. Additionally, tows were capped at a maximum 600 feet, while lengths above 400 feet were advised to travel with an assist vessel. Widths were allowed up to 70 feet. Tows could bypass the restrictions entirely by detouring through the Port Allen Route.
Tows traveling through Algiers Lock without an assist tug continued to be subject to size limits, effectively capping tows at four dry barges or two 30,000 mt tankers per turn. Larger lockages remained possible with assistance, however. Waits were quoted up to 15.5 hours for the week.
Construction at the Belle Chasse Bridge was projected to cause intermittent travel delays for up to 12 hours at a time. The project is scheduled to conclude late this year.
Intermittent Port Allen Lock delays were quoted in the 10-19 hour range for the week. Boats traveling through Industrial Lock required up to 40 hours to pass, Corps data indicated. Bayou Boeuf Lock wait times were observed up to seven hours.
Mississippi River:
Persistent high water levels on the lower Mississippi River necessitated ongoing restrictions, effectively reducing both maximum barge counts and navigation speeds, as well as forcing overnight stoppages on downriver transit through a number of urban locations.
River levels were dropping at Memphis, Tenn., where the river gauge was seen crossing below the area’s 28-foot action stage on March 18. Vicksburg, Miss., levels, posted at an action-stage 41.62 feet and falling slowly on March 22, were expected to remain above action stage through at least April 5, while depths at Baton Rouge, La., were noted at a minor-flood 35.53 feet on March 22. The Baton Rouge gauge was predicted to fall out of flood stage on March 25, but remain above action stage through the entirety of the two-week forecast.
On the upper Mississippi River, Locks 1, 4-8, 12-13, and 5A remained closed to navigation on March 22, later than the industry’s previous March 17 tentative return to spring navigation. The locks were expected to open imminently, as conditions allow. Sources continued to express hope that barges could begin arriving in the St. Paul area by the end of the month.
Wait times were noted up to nine hours for the week at Mel Price Lock. Delays were reported at 4-6 hours through Lock 27 on March 21-22.
Illinois River:
A major repair and maintenance effort scheduled at Brandon Road Lock will impact navigation from May 9 through Sept. 8, Corps documents indicated. Travel will be confined to overnight hours and subject to 70-foot width restrictions between May 9 and Aug. 14, after which the lock will undergo a complete shutdown from Aug. 15 through Sept. 4. Nighttime transit and width restrictions will resume on Sept. 5-8, followed by a return to normal operation on Sept. 9. Considerable delays are predicted throughout the project schedule.
Marseilles Lock delays were noted up to 5.5 hours during the week. Wickets were reported in the lowered position at both Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock, allowing tows to pass both sites via their nonlocking navigational passes.
Ohio River:
Despite elevated flows continuing throughout much of the Ohio River system, rapidly improving conditions were noted to positively impact travel during the week.
Primary chamber repairs at Emsworth Lock forced passage through the site’s auxiliary chamber. Lockages were limited to a single barge per pass, resulting in wait times in a reported 3-6 day range during the week, firming from 2-6 days noted previously. The project is set to run through April 16.
Daylight-hour navigation is unavailable at Cannelton Lock on Wednesdays and Thursdays through May 26 due to a repair project that kicked off on Jan. 26. A proposed subsequent maintenance and repair project would limit Cannelton Lock main chamber availability from July 5 through Nov. 11, prompting vessels to transit through the secondary chamber.
Maintenance to the Dashields Lock main chamber scheduled for March 7-31 was noted routing traffic through the site’s auxiliary chamber. Following the main chamber project’s conclusion, the auxiliary chamber is scheduled to close for maintenance on April 1-22. Corps data showed Dashields wait times up to 56 hours for the week.
Repairs and maintenance scheduled for May 2 through June 22 at Belleville Lock is projected to limit access to the site’s main chamber. Passage will continue to be available through the auxiliary chamber while work is underway.
A main chamber maintenance operation proposed to run from July 5 through Oct. 8 would require vessels transiting Hannibal Lock to use of the auxiliary chamber.
Wilson Lock, located at the Tennessee River’s Mile 259.4, is undergoing main chamber maintenance through April 28, forcing navigation through the secondary chamber. The main chamber was reportedly open for use on March 18-23 to pass assembled traffic, dropping delays down to the 18-30 hour range from recent reports of 5-8 days.
Most Kentucky Lock delays were quoted in the 5-10 hour range, while a handful of intermittent waits were observed in up to 14-18 hours. Wait times were previously noted at seven hours.
On the Cumberland River, southbound traffic was paused during the week at Mile 2 due to a sunken barge in the area. Normal navigation was expected to resume in the week ahead.
Barkley Lock was closed to daytime navigation on March 21-27 for planned Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence (BAFF) maintenance and inspections. Detours were available via Barkley Lock and Kentucky Lock.
Miter gate machinery repairs proposed for Cheatham Lock would limit navigation through the site between May 31 and Aug. 5. The Corps was expected to schedule intermittent opening windows to limit vessel backlogs.
Arkansas River:
A maintenance and repair project in the works at Norrell Lock will block navigation daily between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. for a series of 10-day chunks, scheduled through the end of the year. The closures are slated for June 1-11; June 22-July 21; Aug. 1-10; Aug. 21-Sept. 21; Sept. 3-Oct. 9; Oct. 20-Nov. 18; Nov. 29-Dec. 23; and Jan. 3-31, 2023.