US Gulf:
Travel will be unavailable through Port Allen Lock on Aug. 12-15 to allow for the completion of repairs that began in March. Port Allen Lock was closed for nearly a month following a March 28 miter gate hinge anchorage failure.
Bayou Sorrel Lock guidewall repairs scheduled through Oct. 30 halted weekday travel from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wait times were noted up to 25 hours at midweek, down from a maximum 18 hours at last report.
Ongoing work at Brazos Lock limited Monday-Friday movements from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Intermittent delays were reported at 4-16 hours, according to Corps data, down from 72 hours in the prior week. The project is expected to run through October.
Sources continued to report lingering backups at Industrial Lock following a July 25-27 shutdown for equipment inspection and hurricane preparations. With 22 tows counted in line to lock, Corps data showed delays up to 45 hours on Aug. 8.
Port Allen Lock delays were reported up to 10 hours at midweek. Early-week delays were quoted up to 18 hours at Algiers Lock, but fell below the six-hour mark on Aug. 7-8. Intermittent 6-11 hour waits were reported at Calcasieu Lock, and Corps data showed a handful of 8-13 hour delays at Colorado Lock.
Mississippi River:
A steady decline in water levels in the St. Louis area limited harbor activity and slowed travel through the area, sources said. Depths were posted at 10.3 feet and falling on Aug. 8, with forecasts calling for 6.2-foot levels on Aug. 22.
Heat advisories were in effect for parts of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi on Aug. 8, with heat index values predicted up to 112 degrees.
Revetment operations at Mile 775 of the Lower Mississippi River will likely block southbound travel from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily starting in September. The Corps is expected to finalize dates for the project in late August.
Rock placement underway at Mile 759 will block southbound travel between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily through an estimated Sept. 18. Pipeline removal at Mile 158 is slated to run from Aug. 18 through Sept. 24 but is unlikely to force major impacts to navigation, though intermittent slowdowns and stoppages are expected.
Dredging was underway at Miles 598-599, through potential shoaling concerns at Miles 604-606 could prompt the dredge to shift locations before the current project is completed, sources noted.
Sporadic 4-18 hour delays were reported at Lock 14, and intermittent 19-hour waits were observed at Lock 15. Lock 24 wait times were quoted in the 5-9 hour range, and tows transiting Lock 25 waited up to 15 hours to pass. At Lock 27, Corps data showed intermittent 4-7 hour delays.
Illinois River:
Maximum loading drafts continued to be reported at 9.5 feet for Miles 1-231 and 9.0 feet above Mile 231. Lockport Lock at Mile 291 is projected to close in 2025 from Jan. 14 through March 11 for vertical lift gate installation, blocking movements to and from the Chicago area.
Ohio River:
Loading drafts remained limited on the Ohio River, sources said. Drafts were capped at 10-10.5 feet, depending on location and direction of travel, down 5-10% from normal levels. Tow lengths were permitted up to 15 barges for the full length of the river.
McAlpine Lock is shut to downriver lockages between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. through Nov. 30. The primary chamber at Markland Lock will close for 19 hours daily between Aug. 12 and Sept. 6, forcing detours through the auxiliary chamber.
The main chamber at Hannibal Lock is offline for miter gate repair through Nov. 8, with delays noted up to 28 hours during the week. The John T. Myers Lock main chamber is slated to shut from Aug. 21 through Nov. 9. A similar outage in October 2023 produced delays up to four days. Belleville Lock will see 30-day main and auxiliary chamber closures before the end of the year.
The Tennessee River’s Kentucky Lock was scheduled to return from gate fender replacement on Aug. 10. Travel through the site had been unavailable during daytime hours since June 11. Delays topped out at 37 hours during the week. Wilson Lock, closed to daytime travel since July 22, was due to resume normal locking hours on Aug. 8. Midweek delays were noted up to 12 hours.
On the Monongahela River, a seven-foot draft limit at Lock 3 due to construction will effectively block commercial travel through the site until an estimated Aug. 25.
Arkansas River:
The Van Buren Bridge, located at Mile 300.8 of the Arkansas River, will shut for repairs on Aug. 16 through Sept. 8. Queued vessels will be permitted to pass sometime after the ninth day of work, sources said, while shuttle barges will be free to transit through the site whenever the channel is free of equipment.
Northbound barges were advised to depart Rosedale by Aug. 16 to make the cutoff, while southbound vessels were suggested to release from Catoosa no later than Aug. 19.
Webbers Falls Lock will shut for miter gate inspections between Aug. 26 and Sept. 8. Intermittent delays are expected in the weeks leading up to the closure.