Shipping Resumes On Mississippi River After Barge Accident Closed Lock Near Granite Illinois

Posted in Barge Accidents,Illinois Maritime News,Maritime Accidents on February 7, 2013

ST. LOUIS — Shipping has resumed on an important stretch of the Mississippi River Wednesday, Feb. 6, after this week’s closure of Lock and Dam 27 near Granite City, Ill. Speedy repairs were made to the lock that was damaged as a result of a barge accident that damaged a gate on an auxiliary lock just before dawn on Tuesday that caused traffic to back up before the lock reopened 17 hours later.

Shipping has resumed on an important stretch of the Mississippi River Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 after this week’s closure of Lock and Dam 27 near Granite City, Ill.

The Weather Channel wrote that Coast Guard Lt. Colin Fogarty said by mid-morning Wednesday, 85 barges and 15 vessels were still waiting to pass through but slow and steady progress was being made from the 142 barges and 19 vessels that were idled there at the traffic jam’s peak.

The speed in reopening that damaged lock was “pretty good,” considering that the Army Corps had suggested the repairs could take days, Fogarty said.

That crisis resolved, the Army Corps of Engineers is turning its attention back to the river’ creep toward record low levels because of the nation’s worst drought in decades. It remains confident the channel will be kept to at least the minimum depth required by barges.

Blog post by barge injury lawyer Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP