Barge Traffic

Houston Ship Channel Access is Limited

HOUSTON - The Coast Guard Captain of the Port has reopened waterways in and around Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico with some restrictions. Waterway Updates: The Houston Ship Channel is open to all tug and barge traffic, daylight transit only. The channel is also open to vessels drafting less than 35 feet. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW) is open to all tug and barge traffic, daylight transit only, from mile marker (MM) 277 to MM 350 and from MM248 (Devall West Fleet) to MM 266. The Calcasieu, Neches and Sabine Rivers are open to tug and barge traffic, daylight transit only, with the exception of the Calcasieu River to Cameron. Entergy repair personnel and Coast Guard personnel are working to remove a downed power line in the vicinity of MM 268 of the GICW. Mariners are advised that aids to navigation may be off station and extreme caution should be used while transiting. Mariners should report all discrepancies and obstructions to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Mississippi Lock Could Reopen This Weekend

A Mississippi River lock undergoing repairs that have forced barge tows to use a smaller auxiliary chamber are expected to be back in service by Sunday, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. The 1,200-foot main chamber at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam near Alton, Ill., has been closed to navigation since Jan. 28 because of a mechanical problem with a lift gate. The unscheduled repairs slowed barge traffic and created a traffic backlog

Barge Traffic Still Slow On Mississippi

Barge traffic on U.S. Midwest rivers continued slow as low water levels on the upper and lower Mississippi River and ice buildup on the Illinois River kept navigation treacherous, Reuters reported on Wednesday. "At the Memphis gauge, the water level is about three feet below the desired level," said Lt. Brian Meier, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman, Memphis office. "The forecast is for water levels to stay pretty steady for next couple days," he said.

Sunken Vessel Backs Up Mississippi Traffic

The Mississippi River near the Kentucky-Tennessee border reopened to southbound barge traffic early Thursday (Feb. 17) after the motor vessel Navigator sank Tuesday night and backed up barge traffic, the U.S. Coast Guard said. About 20 southbound tows were awaiting passage when the river was reopened at 8:15 a.m. CST (1415 GMT) Thursday, said Lt. Cmdr. Bruce Fisher, the Coast Guard's chief of port operations in Memphis

Barge Traffic Tied In Knots On Mississippi

U.S. Midwestern grain shippers were getting ready to move barges into the upper Mississippi River on Tuesday but estimated it could be two to three weeks before trapped barges along the river make it to the Gulf. Weekend rains that dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain over a six-county area in northern Missouri and southern Iowa, coupled with swollen river conditions in the upper Mississippi, resulted in two more Mississippi lock closures this week

Traffic Resumes Through LaGrange Lock

Barges were moving through the LaGrange Lock south of Peoria on the Illinois River on Tuesday after workers broke through a wall of ice near the lock late on Saturday, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official said. "LaGrange is open but traffic is moving slowly. Ice is still very intense but we're still locking boats with a width restriction of 95 ft.," the official said. "There was up to eight barges waiting but we're down to three southbound tows and one northbound waiting to get through the

Low Water Hampers River Traffic

Already low water on the Mississippi River around St. Louis was expected by this weekend to approach levels too shallow for barge transportation, and a damaged lock slowed river traffic near Davenport, Iowa, river officials said Thursday. The St. Louis gauge for the Mississippi was at 3.0 feet on Wednesday and was forecast to hit 0.0 feet by Saturday. River traffic can continue operation through St. Louis until the gauge hits -3

Report Compares Inland Waterways Markets, Tech and Policies

"Inland Waterways and the Global Supply Chain" an International Conference Report on "SmartRivers 2006" is currently available at the Port of Pittsburgh Commission website www.port.pittsburgh.pa.us. SmartRivers is a coalition to benchmark best practices for inland waterways, on both sides of the Atlantic, and to help those waterways better integrate themselves into the global supply chain. “Benchmarking conferences were held in Pittsburgh in 2005 and in Brussels, Belgium Europe in 2006

Rock Pinnacle Removal Work Could Begin Next Week

But  Without Water, Effective Shutdown of  Mississippi River to Commerce Still Looms The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports today that two contractors named to remove rock pinnacles at Thebes, Illinois are en route and are expected to arrive on location on December 13 and 17, respectively. The Corps says it is “cautiously optimistic we can start blasting next week” after it meets with the contractors and reviews their blasting submittals.  

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Designated as NDZ

On May 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule designating the state waters within the boundaries of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary ("Sanctuary") as a "no discharge zone" (NDZ). The rule takes effect on June 19, 2002. The Florida Keys Water Quality Protection Committee, Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County and Governor Jeb Bush supported the designation in the form of resolutions in 1999 and 2000.