US Gulf:
Harvey Lock remained shut to navigation due to low water on the lower Mississippi River. Guidewall construction at Bayou Sorrel Lock was scheduled to continue through February 2023, prompting intermittent travel outages between 6:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Delays were noted up to five hours.
Commercial navigation remained completely shut down through the Atchafalaya River’s Little Island Pass, Middle Island Pass, and Riverside Pass due to the presence of exposed underwater pipelines.
Tows transiting Algiers Lock without an assist vessel were subject to ongoing length and width restrictions, sources noted, slashing tow lengths to four standard barges or two 30,000 mt tankers per lockage. Larger tows continued to lock in a single pass when accompanied by an assist tug. Tows were sporadically delayed up to a reported nine hours during the week.
Dredging of the New Orleans Harbor is scheduled for Nov. 1-7. Port Allen Lock delays were noted up to six hours for the week, while wait times at Industrial Lock were reported in the 3-8 hour range.
Mississippi River:
Restricted travel conditions continued on the lower Mississippi River due to extremely low water conditions. Solid-cargo tows were limited to 9.0 feet of draft in both the northbound and southbound directions, while liquid cargoes were capped at 8.5 feet of draft. Tow lengths were restricted to 25 barges, down from the normal 30-40 barge limits.
Sources said the restrictions resulted in total capacity reductions of 25-50% or more from typical levels.
The river gauge at Memphis, Tenn., was reported at (-)9.25 feet and holding on Oct. 26, while Vicksburg, Miss., levels stood at (-)0.07 feet, with both locations below the Low Stage threshold. St. Louis rose to 1.08 feet from the week-ago (-)1.57 feet, but was expected to return to a negative depth reading on Nov. 3. All three gauges were forecast to remain at critically low levels through at least Nov. 10.
Dredging was reported at Miles 922-925, and pipeline removal was underway at Mile 189, blocking movements nightly between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Repair work at the I-10 bridge has prompted a blanket safety advisory for tows passing Miles 228-230 of the lower river.
Old River Lock is shut to navigation through Nov. 13 for repairs and maintenance, limiting access to the Red River. The Atchafalaya River was suggested as an alternate route.
On the upper Mississippi River, the Coast Guard was restricting drafts to 9.0 feet at Miles 109-186. Dredging was underway at Mile 173 during the week. Upon completion, the operation was scheduled to move to Mile 126.
Lock 27 wait times during the week were posted up to five days, increasing from 10-25 hours one week earlier.
Illinois River:
Raised wickets continued to be reported at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock for the week, forcing vessels to lock through both locations. Peoria Lock delays were posted up to six hours, while LaGrange Lock waits stretched to seven hours. Average Marseilles Lock wait times were noted at 5-7 hours.
Ohio River:
Low water levels persisted on the Ohio River during the week, holding maximum drafts at 9.0 feet for the full length of the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers. Reduced barge counts were also noted in effect at Cairo, Ill., due to low levels. Dredging was underway in the Mound City, Mo., area, located at Miles 965-974.
A main chamber miter gate replacement project at Cannelton Lock will trigger detours through the secondary chamber through Nov. 11, with wait times reported in the 11-26 hour range during the week.
The Montgomery Lock primary chamber is shut for repairs and maintenance through Dec. 16, forcing all travel through the secondary chamber. Wait times were posted up to 18 hours during the week.
Low water levels and a developing sandbar in the Olmsted Lock area pushed wait times to seven hours during the week. On the Tennessee River, intermittent wait times were observed up to 22 hours.
Arkansas River:
Norrell Lock is scheduled to shut to daylight-hour travel through Nov. 30. Lockages will be unavailable daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., while tows transiting during overnight hours are limited to 70 feet of width. A complete lock shutdown is scheduled for Jan. 30-31, 2023.