The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District’s Dredge Potter is currently working near Grafton, Illinois, between river miles 218 and 222, using a 300-foot-long flexible floating pipeline to removed material from the navigation channel. The flexible pipeline allows for the creation of ephemeral islands that will be used for habitat restoration and mimics natural sand bar formation. Due to rising water levels and since the dredge placement is unconfined using the energy of the river to distribute the sediment and shape the bar, these newly created ephemeral islands or sandbars may be underwater or unstable and it is recommended that boaters avoid these temporary islands.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is introducing its new Regulatory Request System, an online application portal that allows the public to submit permit applications and other information when requesting permission to dredge, fill or conduct activities in jurisdictional wetlands and waters of the U.S. RRS is available at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs.

Lock and Dam 25 is located in Calhoun County, Illinois, and Lincoln County, Missouri, at approximately Mile 241.4 on the Upper Mississippi River above the mouth of the Ohio River near Winfield, Missouri. Proposed project features include construction of new 1200-foot, pile founded, lock located in the auxiliary miter gate bay, and construction of an upstream, ported guard wall totaling 1200 feet, and a 650-foot downstream approach wall. The existing 600-foot lock remains in place and will become auxiliary lock chamber to be used primarily by recreation traffic. The project also includes associated channel work, relocations and site-specific environmental mitigation. The majority of the Upper Mississippi River locks were designed and constructed in the 1930’s and the lock chambers are 600-ft. long. The 600-ft. lock chamber cause significant average delays to navigation because of double lockages required for tows larger than 600-ft.The new1200-foot lock will significantly reduce delays and increase safety. The combination of ecosystem and navigation in a single U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program required many years of coordination with both the navigation and ecosystem partners and it will alter the future of the Upper Mississippi River System to ensure it remains the vital transportation and ecosystem corridor for the next 100 plus years.

Engineers Far From Ordinary: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis takes a look at the story of the St. Louis District beginning with the rich and legendary history of the river as well as the modern history of the District’s innovations in response to the challenges of simultaneously maintaining and regulating navigation, protecting again flooding, and protecting the environment.

America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Interagency Passes are available for purchase at St. Louis District Lake Offices and Visitor Centers.