St. Paul District Plans Winter Lock Work

The St. Paul Engineer District is preparing for major repairs at six of its Mississippi River locks this winter.

Maintenance is scheduled at Lock and Dam 4, Alma, Wis.; Lock and Dam 5A, near Fountain City, Wis.; Lock and Dam 6, Trempealeau, Wis.; Lock and Dam 7, near La Crescent, Minn.; Lock and Dam 8, near Genoa, Wis.; and Lock and Dam 10, Guttenberg, Iowa.

The locks will be closed from November 28 to March 17, 2022.

Work will vary at each site, ranging from replacing anchorages that are instrumental in operating the miter gates; upgrading the tow-haul rail systems, which are used to move barges upstream of the lock chambers when a tow is heading north and there is a need to break the tow into two lockages; and inspecting and repairing miter gates.

All of the construction activities are scheduled to be completed during the winter to avoid impacts to the navigation industry. The completed work will improve safety for Corps lock operators and industry deckhands, the district said. 

“Having the tow-haul rail system working is critical to keeping our lock staff safe and ensuring navigation vessels can efficiently lock through our facilities,” said Jim Rand, St. Paul District locks and dams chief. “With a lot of this infrastructure more than 80 years old, it’s critical that we find value-added solutions to maintain the system and ensure navigation continues transporting commodities made in the Upper Midwest to global markets.”