Corps of Engineers closes public areas at 2 locks for winter maintenance

ST. PAUL, Minn. –The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is closing public access points at two of its Mississippi River locks this winter because of maintenance.

The maintenance will require the public areas at Lock and Dam 8, near Genoa, Wisconsin; and Lock and Dam 9, near Lynxville, Wisconsin, now through March 13, 2020. The closures are needed due to the amount of heavy construction equipment being used and the size of the work area contractors will need to complete the project. The public lot at Lock and Dam 6, near Trempealeau, Wisconsin, will remain open during construction, but Corps staff urge the public to be cautious near the active construction areas.

Maintenance work at the three locations includes repairs to a tow haul system, which is used to move barges upstream of the lock chamber when a tow is heading north and there is a need to break the tow into two lockages.

The work will involve replacing the existing system as well as some concrete work. The construction is scheduled to be completed during the winter to avoid impacts to the navigation industry. The completed work will improve reliability of the lock and safety for Corps lock operators and industry deckhands.

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