Ohio River SBD loading drafts reduced by approx. 12% or 200 tons per barge.
JT Myers Lock Closure (OR 846) – The Main Chamber at JT Myers will be closed August 21st through November 9th. Delays reached 4+ days late Oct.
Chicago/Illinois/Upper Miss
Upper Miss Draft Reduction–
St. Louis loading drafts reduced, approx. 10% or 100-200 tons per barge below normal capacity.
Illinois and Mid-Miss loading drafts reduced by approx. 6% or 100 tons per barge.
2023 Upper Miss Closeout – ACBL has sent out our annual guidance for final release dates to the Upper Miss and final departure dates off of this river. Click here for our full guidance.
Lower Miss/Gulf/Canals/Tenn Tom
Lower Miss Draft Reduction – Due to the current river stage and operating conditions, ACBL implemented draft and tow-size restrictions working in conjunction with USCG and Industry.
Loading drafts were reduced by 24% NBD and 16% SBD between Cairo to the Gulf.
Approx. reduction of 400-600 Tons per barge NBD and SBD.
Tow size is limited to 6-widths from Cairo to Old River (LM 303), reflecting a 17-38% or 5-15 barge reduction in tow size pending horsepower class.
Expect delay to transit of 48-to-72 hours due to reduced navigable space in certain areas.
Nelms Dredging (LM 710) – Dredge Hurley is in position with expected intermittent 24-hour closures.
Lake Providence Dredging (LM 486) – Dredge Jadwin is repositioned with expected intermittent 24-hour closures through the remainder of the project.
Port Allen Delay (PA 63) – Due to the influx of traffic from the Algiers closure, currently experiencing heightened delays.
Bayou Sorrel Lock Closure (PA 37) – Daily closures resumed June 26th to facilitate guide wall repairs from 07:00 to 16:30. Work is expected to continue until complete in early March 2024.
As of 10/06, the USACE will leave the lock open to navigation after 07:00 each day for any tow that arrived prior to 16:30 the previous day to clear traffic. The daily closure will then resume.
As of 10/11, the lock will clear all southbound tows each afternoon once the routine daytime restrictions in place are lifted before locking additional northbound tows having to wait for the Port Allen Lock.
Additionally, the daytime restrictions will be suspended after the scheduled closure of the Algiers Lock once the average lock time reaches 24 hours. That suspension will remain in effect until Algiers reopens, or the average lock time falls below 24 hours.
Algiers Lock Closure (AC 0) – The lock is closed as of October 2nd to facilitate repairs from an allision in early July. Expected to reopen December 1st.
Harvey Lock Closure (WC 0) – The lock reopened to partial traffic 10/16 A.M. after being closed to marine traffic since June 15th due to risk from reverse head conditions.
When positive head conditions are under 1.5 ft, tows will be restricted to 300 ft in length, including barge and boat. Additionally, there will be no breakouts allowed and no tows 70 ft wide will be locked through.
Bayou Boeuf Closure (WC 94) – There is a scheduled repair in Mid-January in 2024 that will require up to three separate complete four-day closures.
Leland Bowman Delays (WC 163) – Since August 21st, there are 2-hour delays between lockage to limit saltwater intrusion due to extremely low water levels in the Mermentau Basin. Experiencing minimal delay.
Ellender Bridge Closure (WC 243) – There will be a closure 11/11, 11/12, 11/18, and 11/19 from 08:00 to 20:00 to facilitate planned maintenance. Traffic will resume from 20:00 to 08:00 each day noted.
Brazos Lock Closure (WC 401) – Daytime closure started August 31st thru November 29th with daily closures from 07:00 to 19:00 to facilitate repairs.
