Meldahl Auxiliary Chamber To Remain Closed Into 2024

The auxiliary chamber at Meldahl Locks and Dam, Ohio River Mile 436.2, is expected to remain closed into next year to allow repairs to miter gates.

Domenico Chianesi, navigation operations manager for the Huntsville Engineer District, said the chamber was dewatered earlier this year to inspect it and complete repairs prior to a scheduled closure of the main chamber for five months in 2025.

Although some cracking in the auxiliary chamber’s miter gates was expected, “When they went in, there was more than what was anticipated,” Chianesi said. Additionally, crews found some steel plates that needed to be replaced, he said.

While the Regional Repair Fleet began work on the repairs, there was not enough time in the schedule to complete them, Chianesi said. The original schedule called for the work to be completed in July.

Instead, he said, the fleet had to move to another location for work that was deemed more critical without completing the repairs at Meldahl.

The auxiliary lock at Meldahl has been watered, but the plan is not to use it for locking vessels, instead focusing on locking through debris during high water or ice in the winter. It could also be used on an emergency basis if there was a problem with the main chamber, he said.

The Regional Repair Fleet now expects to return next year to complete the work, he said.

Kent Browning, chief of the district’s Technical Support Branch, sent out a Navigation Notice on August 28 that the auxiliary chamber is closed “effective immediately” until further notice.

“This closure is due to safety concerns resulting from the condition of the miter gates,” he said in the notice.