U.S. Gulf/River: The ninth tropical depression of the 2014 hurricane season formed in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche last week. Meteorologists expect the system to intensify into a tropical storm, though models disagreed on the storm’s chances for attaining hurricane status.
On the Mississippi River, the departure window closed on Oct. 21 for barges traveling from New Orleans to destinations between Quincy, Ill., and Clinton, Iowa. Southbound departure cutoffs for St. Paul, Minn., and Clinton are Nov. 13 and 27, respectively. Transit delays of 1-2 hours were reported at Locks 13, 17, 20, and 27. Both Lock 12 and Lock and Dam 5A saw waits of about an hour.
O’Brien Lock on the Illinois River will close for the navigation season from Nov. 3 through Mar. 6, 2015, though the lock will reopen for transit between Dec. 20 and Jan. 18, 2015. The last day for shipments leaving New Orleans for the lock’s mid-season operating window will be Dec. 14.
Favorable river levels kept wickets lowered at the Ohio River’s Lock 52 and 53 last week. Shippers reported delays of 1-2 hours at R.C. Byrd Lock, Greenup, and Smithland, while delays of 2-3 hours were reported for passage through Newburg Lock.
Wait times of an hour or less were seen at Willow Island, Belleville, and Winfield Lock on the Ohio River. Tow limits of 24 barges northbound and 15 barges southbound remained in place through the Olmstead Locks and Dam Project.
Minor delays attributed to an equipment failure were expected to continue indefinitely at Braddock Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River.
On the Gulf, average queue lengths of 24 boats were reported at Industrial Lock resulting in 24-30 delays. Daytime closures at Bayou Sorrel in the West Canal pushed wait times to as high as 24 hours, and delays were experienced at Port Allen Lock (4-6 hours), Algiers Lock (1-2 hours), Harvey Lock (1-2 hours), and Calcasieu Lock (1-2 hours).
The Victoria Barge Canal Lift Bridge will be offline between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, for an undetermined length of time.