US Gulf:
Port Allen Lock will be completely offline from July 30 to Aug. 3 and again on Aug. 12-15 for miter gate repair. Transit through the site was unavailable for nearly one month following a miter gate hinge anchorage failure on March 28. Navigation was unavailable through the Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge overnight on July 20, sources said.
Guidewall work at Bayou Sorrel Lock will limit daytime movements through Oct. 30. Delays topped out around the 10-hour mark, down from 37 hours at last check. Brazos Lock repairs will continue into October, restricting Monday-Friday travel from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Intermittent 4-13 hour wait times were reported during the week.
Repairs in progress at the San Jacinto River Bridge in the Houston area are expected to run through July and possibly into late August. With passage completely unavailable through the channel’s eastern side, tows were limited to single-wide configurations through the western side of the channel.
Industrial Lock waits were counted up to 25 hours during the week.
Mississippi River:
Rapidly normalizing water levels allowed Mississippi River locks to return to operation during the week.
A project underway at Mile 759 of the lower river prompted southbound closures from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, sources said. The effort is expected to run through Sept. 18. Navigation will be unavailable through the Fort Madison Bridge between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on July 28 and again on Aug. 1.
Early-week delays were reported up to 21 hours at Lock 16, and waits tracked up to six hours at Lock 22. Corps data showed intermittent 5-10 hour wait times at Lock 24. Lock 21 will shut to daytime navigation on Aug. 13, sources said.
On the Cumberland River, Old Hickory Lock was reported offline through Aug. 1 for hydraulic line replacement. Old Hickory Lock was previously closed to daytime travel on June 10-27. The Minnesota River gauge at Savage, Minn., fell below the area’s 697-foot action-stage threshold on July 22, ahead of the July 24 forecast.
Illinois River:
Dredging continued from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Miles 87-88 of the Illinois River during the week, after low water levels were reported blocking navigation one week earlier. While traffic was said to be largely unaffected, larger tows were advised to contact the dredge in advance to request additional passing room if needed.
Maximum loading drafts continued to be posted at 9.5 feet for Miles 1-231 and 9.0 feet above Mile 231. Dresden Island Lock was closed to navigation from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 24 for a control systems upgrade, a Corps notice indicated.
Ohio River:
Sources described water levels as falling slowly at the lower end of the Ohio River. Loading drafts were limited to 10-10.5 feet, depending on location and direction of travel – a 5-10% reduction from normal levels – while tow lengths continued up to a 15-barge maximum.
McAlpine Lock is shut to southbound travel from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 30, with delays reported as high as 11 hours. Travel through the primary chamber at Markland Lock is unavailable for 19 hours daily through Aug. 2, forcing detours through the auxiliary chamber. The closures are scheduled to repeat between Aug. 12 and Sept. 6.
The Hannibal Lock main chamber is closed for miter gate repairs through Nov. 8, producing waits up to 23 hours.
The main chamber at John T. Myers Lock is set to go offline from Aug. 21 through Nov. 9 for maintenance. A similar outage in October 2023 resulted in delays up to four days in length. Belleville Lock will see a 30-day primary and secondary chamber shutdown before the end of the year.
Daily closures were reported at Kentucky Lock, on the Tennessee River, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. through July 24 for gate fender replacement. Midweek delays were quoted up to 52 hours. Wilson Lock was closed to daytime travel from July 22 through Aug. 8, with intermittent waits noted in the 11-22 hour range.
Arkansas River:
The Van Buren Bridge, at Mile 300.8 of the Arkansas River, will close for repairs on Aug. 2-Sept. 8, sources said. A single opening to pass queued vessels is tentatively scheduled following the ninth day of work. Webbers Falls Lock is set to close from Aug. 26 through Sept. 8 for miter gate inspections.