Corps closes books on another Upper Mississippi navigation season
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, locked the last tow of the season out of St. Paul, Minnesota, yesterday, Dec. 3.
The Motor Vessel Charlie G was locked through Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minnesota, with 12 barges. Traditionally, the last tow heading south of Lock and Dam 2 marks the unofficial end of the navigation season for the Twin Cities portion of the St. Paul District.
The 2015 navigation season started March 25, when the Motor Vessel New Dawn reached St. Paul. “It was a great year for navigation,” said Jim Rand, St. Paul District locks and dams chief. “We saw a slight increase in the annual tonnage with an estimated 96.7 million tons of commodities being shipped within the St. Paul District.” The 10-year average for commodities is nearly 93 million tons.
The Motor Vessel Mary K. Cavarra was the last tow of the 2014 season. She was locked through Lock 2, Nov. 20, 2014.
The Corps will continue managing the river during the navigation closure in order to maintain the pool levels. All vessels will need to be south of Lock and Dam 9, near Lynxville, Wisconsin, by Dec. 9, due to the Corps closing the lock this winter to dewater it and perform maintenance on the infrastructure at the facility.
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.
