FYI- These are the locks some would like to close.
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Upper and Lower Saint Anthony Falls locks and dams have busy year, see increase in commodities
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, announced its navigation statistics for the 2012 season for its upper two Mississippi River locks – Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, both in Minneapolis.
The amount of shipped commodities increased during the 2012 season compared to the previous year. The commodities total at the both locks was 822.5 kilotons. The 2011 total was 759 kilotons.
The total number of vessels entering the upper lock was 1,932, of which there were 1,356 lockages. This is a decrease from the 2011 total of 2,392 lockages. The lockages were similar for the lower lock. The 2012 total was 1,371, which is less than the 2011 total of 1,766. There were 1,815 vessels that used the lower lock during the 2012 season.
Navigation statistics fluctuate annually due to several factors including the weather, river flows and the length of the navigation season. The locks and dams were closed twice during the season due to high water.
The first closure occurred May 28 when recreational traffic was halted. Commercial navigation was closed the following day and did not reopen until June 6. Recreational traffic was reopened June 8. The locks were closed to recreational traffic for the second time June 21. Navigation traffic was also closed June 24, but reopened June 28. Recreational traffic resumed July 4. The Corps closes the locks to recreational traffic when river flows exceed 30,000 cubic feet per second, or cfs, and navigation when flows exceed 40,000 cfs.
Mike DeRusha, lockmaster for these two locks, said, “It’s been a challenging year, but I take great pride in knowing that our locks are contributing to the local economy and the environment. We had barge traffic equivalent to nearly 31,000 large semis filled with commodities pass through our locks this season.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, serves the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. It contributes around $175 million to the five-state district economy. The 700 employees work at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states. For more information, see http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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