2022 Mississippi River navigation season closes for the year

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, saw the last barge of the year, the Motor Vessel Ashley Danielson, depart Lock and Dam 2 today at 4:25 a.m., ending the 2022 navigation season on the Upper Mississippi River.

Traditionally, the last tow departing the capital city heading south of Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minnesota, has marked the unofficial end of the navigation season. The last tow to leave St. Paul, Minnesota, usually occurs around the last week of November or the first week of December.

The 2022 season started March 21 when the Motor Vessel Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr., broke its way through the ice of Lake Pepin to travel to St. Paul, Minnesota.

While we say goodbye to the 2022 navigation season, St. Paul District staff are busy this coming winter with maintenance projects scheduled at Locks and Dams 3 and 4 for miter gate anchorage bar replacement. The repairs are scheduled for completion in March 2023.

The St. Paul District’s navigation program provides a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system on the Upper Mississippi River for the movement of commercial goods and for national security needs. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy. The industries using the inland navigation system saved approximately $430 million instead of overland shipping methods.

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