Corps Announces Intermittent Lock Closures

The Corps of Engineers has announced intermittent lock closures at Barkley, Cheatham and Chickamauga dams.

Barkley

Barkley Lock, at Cumberland River Mile 30.6 in Grand Rivers, Ky., is closing for repairs to the bio-acoustic fish fence system from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily March 22 through April 2, according to the Louisville Engineer District. 

For more information, call the lock at 270-362-4222.

Cheatham

Cheatham Lock, at Cumberland River Mile 148.6 in Ashland City, Tenn., is closing, with some restricted openings, during five phases from April 12 to June 10 to allow maintenance workers to cut slots for stoplogs, according to the Nashville Engineer District. Closures start at 6 a.m. each day.

The lock will be closed for Phase 1 work April 12-22. It will then open, with restrictions, April 23-25. The lock will close for Phase 2 April 26-May 6. It will open, with restrictions, May 7-9. For Phase 3 it will close May 10-20. It will open, with restrictions, May 21-23. For Phase 4 it will close May 24-June 3. It will open, with restrictions, June 4-6. For Phase 5 it will close June 7-10.

During restricted openings, a dewatering box will protrude into the chamber approximately 9 feet. To safely pass cargo through the chamber during restricted openings, the following rules are in effect: 

Total dimensions of the boat and tow must be no larger than 70 feet wide and 795 feet long. Normal-size barges passing through doublewide during the restricted opening will have 31 feet of clearance.

Chemical and fuel barges will only be allowed to pass through singlewide during the restricted opening and will have 47 feet of clearance.

A helper boat will be required to guide the tows past the restricted area going both upstream and downstream.

This schedule may change due to unforeseen circumstances, including weather delays, high water or unexpected mechanical issues. The project engineer will communicate such changes as they arise.

For more information, call Bobby Holt at 615-792-0627 or email him at bobby.j.holt@usace@army.mil.

Chickamauga

Chickamauga Lock, at Tennessee River Mile 471 in Chattanooga, Tenn., will close 7 a.m. May 3 to noon May 24 to allow a contractor to complete a full electrical rehabilitation on the lock operating system, the Nashville Engineer District said.

The lock will then undergo intermittent closures during daylight hours May 27 to June 7 to allow the contractor to continue to install non-mission-critical equipment.

For more information, call the lock at 423-875-6230.