Alton, Ill. - The St. Louis District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is investigating a series of cable failures in the main lock at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam on the Mississippi River.
The main 1,200-foot lock chamber at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam south of Alton, Ill., has been closed since December 28 due to the failure of a cable that operates one of the leafs on the main lock's upstream lift gates. It is still being determined how soon the chamber will return to service, but it could possibly be as late as June.
The 600-foot auxiliary chamber at the Mel Price Locks and Dam is operating to meet navigation needs. The Corps and barge industry are working together to maintain the flow of barge traffic up to and into the Illinois River.
A hoisting cable comprised of individual cables has experienced three failures of those individual cables since September, according to Andy Schimpf, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District Navigation Manager. The latest failure was Dec. 28, and engineers determined that operating the leaf of the upstream vertical lift gate would be unsafe. The failed cables have been sent for evaluation and an investigation is underway to determine the cause.
"Individually, the earlier episodes were not a threat to safe operations, but collectively the failures have forced the decision to close traffic in the main chamber," Schimpf said.
The Mel Price Locks average more than 7,000 vessels with a total of more than 54,000 barges in both directions each year. These vessels carry some 56 million tons of cargo, including more than 31 million tons of farm products, mostly for export overseas. Other major cargoes include stone, chemicals, petroleum products and coal.
The Corps' Lock Performance Monitoring System updates every half hour, including vessel queues. It is available to the public at: http://corpslocks.usace.army.mil
Release no. 14-013