US Gulf:
Guidewall repairs scheduled through Oct. 30 at Bayou Sorrel Lock prompted intermittent travel outages from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with waits noted up to 26 hours during the week. Carpenters Bayou, located near the Houston Ship Channel, was closed to traffic from 12-4 p.m. on March 27, sources said.
Ellender Bridge repairs, in progress at Mile 243 of the West Canal since Feb. 5, will prevent weekday drawbridge openings from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 12. Bridge work at Mile 63 of the Port Allen Route will close the area to navigation between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on April 19, 21, and 23.
Planned Bayou Boeuf Lock repairs were expected to leave navigation unavailable from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 1-30. Additionally, the site will close entirely on April 2-5 and April 9-12, completely halting lock access for 83 hours at a time.
Brazos Lock repairs scheduled into late August limited movements from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., resulting in intermittent 5-20 hour delays during the week. The project was previously set to conclude on Feb. 29.
Port Allen Lock waits were noted up to 18 hours. Boats transiting Industrial Lock saw delays up to 48 hours, according to Corps data, while Algiers Lock wait times topped out around 16 hours during the week. Colorado Lock passages required up to nine hours to complete.
Mississippi River:
A sunken barge reported at Mile 260 of the Lower Mississippi River will necessitate a river closure during salvage operations, sources said. No date for the retrieval was announced on March 27.
Loading drafts were cut by 10% on travel through the St. Louis area, sources said. Drafts were reduced by 5-10% between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill. Tows traveling upriver were limited to 9.5 feet of draft between Columbus, Ky., and St. Louis, while southbound travel was capped at 10.5-foot drafts.
The river gauge at St. Louis showed 4.97-foot depths on March 28. River levels at Memphis, Tenn., were reported at 7.03 feet and falling at midweek, with 2.90-foot readings predicted on April 11. A March 28 flood warning at Vicksburg, Miss., was scheduled to expire on April 1.
Dredging underway at Miles 0-22 of the lower river is expected to run 24/7 through April 1, through the project may continue intermittently through the end of August. Tows were required to pass at lowest safe speeds.
Illinois River:
Travel will be unavailable from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Miles 296-296.7 on April 3-4 for fish barrier testing. Dresden Island Lock was closed to daytime travel on March 26-27 due to miter gate motor and brake assembly installation, resulting in delays up to 14 hours.
Mechanical dredging continued at Miles 244.2-244.5, according to a Coast Guard posting, running Monday through Thursday from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The work will continue until further notice.
Four wickets stuck in the raised position at LaGrange Lock prompted caution warnings for vessels transiting the site’s navigational pass. The wickets are located at the lock’s left descending side of the river and are submerged below the waterline.
Lowered wickets at Peoria Lock allowed tows to pass without locking. Waits were reported up to 11 hours at Marseilles Lock.
Ohio River:
Meldahl Lock travel was delayed due to an ongoing main chamber shutdown, resulting in waits as high as 48 hours, up from 22 hours at last report. Repairs were expected to run through the end of March.
Valve repairs at Greenup Lock are scheduled through April 12. Planned maintenance at Markland Lock and Cannelton Lock will limit movements through both locations between April 22 and June 7, while Markland Lock will close once more on June 10-28 for miter gate repairs.
Machinery work at Racine Lock is on the books for June 1 through July 11, while delays are projected at Hannibal Lock from June 15 to Nov. 7 for dewatering and miter gate repairs. Belleville Lock will see alternating 30-day main and auxiliary chamber shutdowns during the second half of the year.
Boats transiting Kentucky Lock, on the Tennessee River, were delayed up to nine hours during the week, while 3-6 hour waits were reported at Pickwick Landing Lock. Intermittent 10-40 hour delays were noted at Wilson Lock.
The Cumberland River’s Old Hickory Lock is closed to overnight travel through April 1. The site will shut completely between April 1 and May 9.
Arkansas River:
Miter gate inspections are scheduled for Aug. 16-Sept. 8 at the Van Buren Bridge, located at Mile 300.8 of the Arkansas River. Vessels will reportedly be allowed to pass the site following the ninth day of work.