Main Chamber Reopens At Mel Price L&D

The scheduled repairs to the main lock chamber at Melvin Price Locks and Dam at Upper Mississippi Mile 200.8 in Alton, Ill., just north of St. Louis, were completed and the lock reopened to traffic on March 8.

The main chamber had been closed since January 3 for dewatering. During the closure, tows had to break up to use the smaller 600-foot auxiliary chamber.

The repairs included replacement of the control system and lock wall control shelters. In addition, according to Amanda Kruse, chief of public affairs for the St. Louis Engineer District, a crack that was found on the upstream lift gate during a recent inspection was also repaired. “All repairs were completed on schedule,” she told The Waterways Journal.

Last year, the district closed the same main lock chamber from August 30 to September 1 to repair cracks in an upstream gate that were uncovered by a routine inspection.

Kruse said that no other issues were uncovered by the recent work and there are no other repairs planned.