Lock 24 closure - UPDATE
Clarksville, Mo., Wednesday, October 14 – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel at lock 24 completed repairs this afternoon to restore operations at the lock. The lock was closed after a machinery malfunction early Tuesday morning. Machinery that opens and closes the large steel miter gates at the downstream or south end of the lock malfunctioned at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, effectively closing the Mississippi River to commerce at that point. Work was finished and tests completed to allow the lock to be placed back in service a 4 p.m today. At the time, a total of seven tows were waiting to lock through in both directions. It takes about 90 minutes to complete a routine 15-barge lockage. Tuesday afternoon, once parts of the damaged machinery that prevented the gate from being moved manually were removed, personnel at Lock 24 succeeded in closing the miter gate with the assistance of a work flat, or boat. When they were satisfied that the downstream gate was properly secured, they filled the 600-foot lock chamber and raised the waiting Alter Barge Line towboat, Jeffrey G and her six barges to the upstream pool level. This enabled the Jeffrey G and her tow of 15 barges to complete their lockage and proceed north. Yesterday, maintenance personnel reassessed the need to bring the large Corps of Engineers floating crane Sewell to the scene and decided to use the crane on a barge attached to the Corps tow boat, Motor Vessel Pathfinder instead. That crane is normally used to move and set buoys and was deemed powerful enough to remove and replace the damaged machinery. Corps experts estimate that decision saved eight hours in getting required maintenance assets to Lock 24. Maintenance personnel from offices across the St. Louis District worked through on and off rain to complete work ahead of schedule. More than 30 million tons of bulk commodities are locked through Lock 24 annually. More than 60 percent of the nation’s agricultural commodities, destined for time-sensitive delivery to and export through the port of New Orleans move southward past St. Louis every year.St. Louis District maintenance personnel (l to r) Tony Reis, Bill Dinwiddie, Jared Miller and Craig Marshall (kneeling), align the new speed reducer for the downstream, Illinois leaf at the nearly 70-year-old facility in Clarksville, Mo. The 9,200 pound speed reducer is a component of the leaf gate machinery, which opens and closes the miter gates |
