ST. PAUL, Minn. – Exactly 3,928 vessels and 7,543,650 tons of cargo passed through Lock and Dam 5, located north of Winona, Minn., during the 2011 navigation season from March 23-Dec. 2.
The MV Tigre was the last tow to pass through Dec. 2.
Of these vessels, 719 were commercial, 3,086 were recreational and 123 were of the other category, such as government watercraft.
During the 2010 navigation season, 4,922 craft passed through Lock and Dam 5 – 758 of them commercial, 4,075 of them recreational and 89 other. In 2010, the amount of commodities transported through this lock was 7,974,264 tons.
Navigation statistics fluctuate from year to year, depending on the weather, the flows and the length of the navigation season.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Lock and Dam 5 in 1935 and its last major rehabilitation occurred from 1997-1998.
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 www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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Release no. 12-013