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Barges, tows stranded by lock closures

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By Tom Saul | Tuesday, April 29, 2008 |

Rising water that has topped some Mississippi River locks has closed three of the navigation structures with more expected to shut down as the river crest moves downstream later in the week.

The closures are causing headaches for barge companies, which are in the process of moving equipment up the river for transportation season. Some got caught off guard by the rapidly rising river and have had to find places to park barge strings and tow boats that can travel no farther upstream.

“We’ve been stocking up on Advil and stomach antacid,” said Larry Daily, president of Bettendorf-based Alter Barge Line Inc. “There is not much we can do. We were caught by surprise when they closed (Lock & Dam) 17 earlier than we thought.”

Lock & Dam 17, near New Boston, Ill., was closed Saturday night, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notice posted on its Web site.

Other structures on the upper Mississippi that have been closed because of high water include Lock & Dam 13 at Fulton, Ill., and Lock & Dam 16 at Muscatine, said Ron Fournier, spokesman for the Army Corps at Rock Island.

River levels above flood stage routinely result in closing navigation structures, Fournier said. Overtopping of the lock gates means water can’t be drawn down to allow vessels and their barge strings to be raised or lowered to continue their journey.

“As the river crest moves south downriver, we’ll probably be closing more locks through the week,” he said.

Barge companies are in the midst of a process known as “setting the table,” meaning they are moving barges, tow boats and other equipment needed to begin transporting commodities when the time comes, Daily said.

“We are starting to set the shipping pattern for the rest of the summer,” Daily said. “We’re moving barges up so they can be loaded. It costs us $10,000 a day in lost revenue to have a tow boat and barges out of service.”

Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.