US Gulf:
Low water conditions on the Lower Mississippi River were expected to trigger a 48-hour closure at Port Allen Lock for dredging, sources said. The Corps was reportedly waiting for a dredge to become available on July 12 and expected work to begin sometime before July 20.
Transit remained unavailable at Harvey Lock due to reverse head conditions. The lock has been shut since June 15.
Work at Colorado Lock, underway since December 2022, was scheduled to conclude on July 14, ending a period of daily 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. shutdowns. Waits were noted up to 18 hours during the week.
Guidewall repairs underway at Bayou Sorrel Lock limited navigation daily between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., triggering delays up to 19.5 hours. The project is scheduled to run through March 2024.
Crane repairs forced a delay to planned work at Leland Bowman Lock, pushing the project’s start to July 17 from July 10. Navigation will be unavailable between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. for approximately 14 days. Sources reported a 12-hour repair shutdown at Brazos Lock on July 13.
Port Allen Lock waits were quoted up to nine hours. Intermittent 5-14 hour delays were reported at Industrial Lock, while tows were delayed up to 12 hours at Brazos Lock. Intermittent navigation stoppages are expected at the BNSF Railroad Bridge, located at Mile 1 of the Port Allen Route, between July 17 and Aug. 14.
Mississippi River:
Sources noted a 10% reduction in maximum drafts on tons loading at St. Louis. Barges loading at Cairo, Ill., reportedly faced 5-15% lower drafts. On the lower river, draft limits on northbound cargoes loading at NOLA were slashed by 20%, while tows moving downriver from Cairo saw barge counts reduced by 15-25%.
The St. Louis river gauge returned a 1.64-foot reading on July 13, with levels forecast to drop below the 0.00-foot mark on July 22. Depths at Memphis, Tenn., were posted at (-)0.59 feet and falling quickly on July 13, prompting expectations of a drop below the area’s (-)5.0-foot low stage on July 18.
A flood watch and heat advisory were in effect on July 13 for the Vicksburg, Miss., area. Both the watch and advisory were scheduled to expire late in the day on July 13. Baton Rouge, La., and Memphis were also under heat advisories on July 13.
Dredging on the lower river moved from Mile 525 to Miles 483-490 during the week, sources said, prompting rolling 24-hour shutdowns in the area while the project is underway. Sources expected delays of 24-36 hours. On the upper river, dredging was projected to begin at Mile 171 on July 13, and Mile 16 on July 11.
Channel work at Mile 933, which has limited southbound travel from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, was slated to wrap up in mid-July, sources said. Waits were noted in a general 12-18 hour range.
Illinois River:
Sources noted a 5% reduction on maximum drafts for vessels transiting the Illinois River due to low water levels, down from 5-10% reported previously. Wickets continued in the raised position at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock, necessitating lockages through both locations.
Starved Rock Lock was reportedly shut on July 11-14 for miter gate repairs. Commercial navigation is essentially unavailable on the waterway through an estimated Oct. 1 due to repairs and maintenance at Brandon Road Lock, Dresden Island Lock, and Marseilles Lock.
Ohio River:
Loading drafts remained limited to 10-10.5 feet on the Ohio River due to low water levels, sources said.
Floating mooring system repairs in progress at John T. Meyers Lock are scheduled through Aug. 20, closing the main chamber to navigation. The site’s auxiliary chamber will shut Aug. 21 through Sept. 10 for miter gate repairs, followed by an additional main chamber shutdown scheduled for Sept. 11 through Nov. 17.
The Melville Lock secondary chamber is reportedly offline through Aug. 4 for maintenance and repairs. The secondary chamber at McAlpine Lock is closed through Aug. 18.
Strong outflows at Smithland Lock required tows to use an assist vessel on southbound lockages. The site’s land chamber is due to go offline Sept. 22 through Oct. 21 for machinery repairs, while the river chamber will shut Oct. 22 through Nov. 20 for machinery replacement.
The Greenup Lock main chamber is closed through Aug. 14 for planned maintenance, prompting detours through the secondary chamber. Winfield Lock repairs scheduled to begin on July 10 were unlikely to impact navigation, sources said.
The Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock saw waits up to 18 hours, while tows passing Wilson Lock were delayed up to 23 hours during the week. Loading drafts were reduced to 8.5 feet on the Monongahela River due to low water levels.