Corps of Engineers releases 2014 navigation statistics for Minneapolis locks

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, released the navigation statistics for the 2014 navigation season for Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls Locks and Dams and Lock and Dam 1 in Minneapolis today, Dec. 9.

Corps staff supported 1,207 lockages at Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam; 1,584 lockages at Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and 1,444 lockages at Lock and Dam 1. 

There were 535 commercial navigation lockages at the upper lock; 1,011 commercial locka ges at the lower lock and 625 lockages at Lock and Dam 1. Collectively, these commercial tows shipped more than 711,000 tons of commodities. During the 2013 navigation season, Corps staff supported 581 commercial lockages at the upper lock; 1,347 at the lower lock and 661 at Lock and Dam 1. The commercial tows hauled 821,150 tons through the Minneapolis locks in 2013.

In addition to the commercial lockages, Corps staff locked 1,475 recreation vessels during 657 recreation lockages at the upper lock; 1,089 vessels during 552 lockages at the lower lock and 1,696 vessels during 799 lockages at Lock and Dam 1. To minimize lockages, the Corps of Engineers tries to include multiple recreation vessels during a single lockage. There were an additional 15 lockages at the upper lock, 21 lockages at the lower lock and 20 lockages at Lock and Dam 1 from various government agencies to include the Corps of Engineers. 

The first lockage of the season for the Minneapolis locks was the Motor Vessel Patrick Gannaway. She was locked through April 2. The last tow of the season occurred Nov. 15, when the Motor Vessel Becky Sue was locked through the locks. The locks were closed for a total of 34 days to commercial traffic and 84 days to recreation traffic because of dangerous river currents. The Corps closes the Minneapolis locks to recreation traffic when the river flows exceed 30,000 cubic feet per second, or cfs, and commercial traffic is closed when the flows exceed 40,000 cfs.

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 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

-30-