Barges wait for emergency repairs to lock

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Mississippi River is shut down to water traffic about 45 miles northwest of St. Louis, while emergency repairs are made to a river lock.

By Monday, as many as 195 barges carrying cargo were waiting to clear Lock 25 at Winfield, a community located about 45 miles northwest of St. Louis, said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Alan Dooley.

The lock has been shut down since Wednesday night, but the hope is it could reopen as soon as Monday night.

"It's certainly a roadblock. There's no way around it. It will halt or slow traffic far beyond St. Louis," said Ed Henleben, chair of the River Industry Action Committee, a barge industry group that works with agencies including the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard.

Officials said the barges waiting to clear the lock aren't sitting on the river as though there's a traffic jam. Some are being held in St. Louis in fleeting areas, which are spots on the river where barges can anchor and be tied off.

The lock is a concrete chamber with gates, located on the river. It acts something like a waterborne elevator. Water can be added or taken out of the lock chamber allowing boats to move up or down a section of the river from one pool of water to the next, Dooley explained.

Repairs are being made to anchorage hinges, which secure the lock's gates to the wall and allow the gates to move.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it knows of 13 barge tows that are waiting to clear the lock, or a total of up to 195 barges. A barge tow can consist of up to 15 barges, each barge carrying about 1,700 tons of cargo.

Other vessels, like passenger boats or river excursion vessels, cannot move along the river at Winfield until the repairs are complete.

"The industry is extremely appreciative of the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," Henleben said. "This could have been far more devastating if it hadn't been caught."

Lock and Dam 25 began operation in 1939, and the Corps said it is well beyond its 50-year design life. While the Water Resources Development Act which passed last year allowed for waterway projects including lock and dam improvements, the money has not yet been appropriated for the work.