2015 Mississippi River Navigational Season is Open - Mississippi River – General Discussion - Mississippi River – General Discussion

First tow marks unofficial opening to navigation season

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The 2015 Mississippi River navigation season has arrived.

The Motor Vessel New Dawn locked through Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minnesota, at 7:45 a.m. this morning. She was pushing nine loaded barges en route to St. Paul, Minnesota.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, considers the first tow to arrive at Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, as the unofficial start of the navigation season, because it means all of its locks are accessible to commercial and recreational vessels. The earliest date for an up-bound tow to reach Lock and Dam 2 was March 4, in 1983, 1984 and 2000.

The first tow to reach Lock and Dam 2 in 2014 was the M/V Angela K. She locked through April 16, 2014. The last tow of the 2014 season was the M/V Mary K. Cavarra. She departed the lock heading south Nov. 20, 2014.

The Corps would also like to remind boaters to “share the road.” Commercial towboats with barges are less maneuverable and take longer to stop than recreation boats. Before getting underway, boaters should also know their boat and know the rules of the road.

Take a safe boating course and check your boat for all required safety equipment;
Consider the size of the boat, the number of passengers and the amount of extra equipment you have;
Wear your life jacket, don’t just carry it on board – events can happen quickly;
Leave alcohol behind to increase your safety and decrease your risk;
Check the weather forecast; and
File a float plan with a friend or family member.

The St. Paul District maintains a 9-foot navigation channel at each of the 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy. The industries making these shipments saved nearly $270 million by using the inland waterways instead of overland shipping methods.

The nearly 650 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2014 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

Attachments: