River Closures and Restricted Movements

Ohio/Tennessee/Cumberland

  • Smithland Lock Closure (OR 918.5) – Land chamber closure beginning April 1st thru April 2nd from 1800-0600.
  • McAlpine Lock Closure (OR 606) -Beginning January 6th thru March 25th there will be intermittent daytime closures starting at 0700 for up to 10 hours a day to work on the Portland Canal wall. Work was suspended as of March 13th, will resume on March 24th.
  • Ohio River Safety Zone (OR 490-491) – Possible intermittent closures beginning March 24th thru March 29th and March 31st thru April 5th from 0700-1100 due to work on overhanging power lines.
  • New Cumberland Lock Closure (OR 54) – A scheduled primary chamber closure began at 0600 on February 28th thru May 28th to facilitate repairs.
  • Tennessee-Tombigbee Channel Closure (TT 410) – Due to flooding there is a shoal that has caused a full channel blockage with a depth of less than 7 feet as of March 17th.
  • Wilson Lock (TR 259.4) -Main Chamber Closure 07:00 9/25 due to cracks in miter gate pintle, repair time is now estimated to be June 14, 2025.
  • Cheatham Lock Closure (CR 148.7) – Lock will be closed for scheduled repairs from March 3rd thru May 29th, 2025, with interim openings:
    • Opening 1: March 20th starting at 1800 thru March 24th at 0600.
    • Opening 2: April 3rd starting at 1800 thru April 7th at 0600.
    • Opening 3: April 17th starting at 1800 thru April 21st at 0600.
    • Opening 4: May 1st starting at 1800 thru May 5th at 0600.
    • Opening 5: May 15th starting at 1800 thru May 19th at 0600.

Chicago/Illinois/Upper Miss

  • Upper Miss River Re-Opening: ACBL has sent out our annual guidance for re-opening dates to the Upper Miss. Click the link below for our full guidance.
  • Illinois River Lockport Lock Re-Opening – The US Army Corps of Engineers will reopen Lockport Lock at mile 291 on April 4th at 1800. These are only temporary repairs and once they have a permanent fix, there will be another 4–6-week closure for final repairs. We will provide more information as it becomes available. Click the link below for our revised full guidance.
  • Brandon Road Lock (IR 286) – The closures beginning January 28th, Monday thru Friday until March 25th for rock excavation and dredging, have been extended to April 4th. Openings on Saturdays and Sundays to pass traffic.
  • Mel Price Lock (UM 200) – Main chamber closure January 1st thru April 1st, currently double locking; expect delays to grow to 18-25 hours daily.
  • Lock 27 (UM 185.5) – Main chamber closure January 1st thru April 1st, currently double locking; expect delays to grow to 18-25 hours daily.

Lower Miss/Gulf/Canals/Tenn Tom

  • Lower Miss Operational Impact
    • Due to the current river stage and operating conditions, ACBL has implemented draft and tow-size restrictions listed below.
      • Loading drafts were reduced to 20% NBD Gulf to Cairo.
      • Tow size has been reduced pending horsepower classification by 28-33% (9-10 barges)
      • Expect delays to transit of 24-to-48 hours due to reduced navigable space in certain areas.
  • Lower Miss Channel Closure (LM 908-898) – The river is currently open after being closed due to a sunken barge on March 19th. South-bound traffic will transit first, then north-bound. Salvage operations will take place March 25th-26th with intermittent closure. More info to come.
  • Togo Closures (LM 413)
    • The scheduled daylight closures in place for traffic due to dike installations that started on January 6th through approximately March 30th has now been estimated to complete on April 1st.
    • Barge recovery operations planned for March 25th thru March 26th. More info to come.
  • Morley Lift Bridge Closures (PA 56) – There will be scheduled intermittent closures for several repairs:
    • March 18th, 22nd, and 25th: 18-hour closures each day
    • April 1st: 18-hour closure
    • April 4th and 8th: 14-hour closure each day
    • April 17th: 16-hour closure
  • Colorado River Locks (WC 440) – The East and West locks will have daytime restrictions Monday through Friday now starting January 29th thru February 28th has now been extended until March 31st.
  • Brazos Lock Closure (WC 401) – Daytime closure started August 31st, 2023, and was expected to last thru February 28th but has now been extended to March 28, 2025. Project was unavailable 05:34-15:58 3/20.
  • Leland Bowman Lock Closure (WC 163) – Daytime closures Monday thru Friday, from 0700-18:30, beginning March 24th thru April 25th for various repairs.