Minneapolis locks reopening to recreation traffic

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is reopening its three Minneapolis locks to recreation traffic tomorrow, May 8, at noon.

While the forecast flows are falling to a point where the locks can safely open for recreational traffic, the Corps encourages boaters to continue using caution in the area because the Mississippi River currents are still high.

The Upper St. Anthony Falls and Lower St. Anthony Falls locks and dams in downtown Minneapolis and Lock and Dam 1 next to Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis were closed to recreation traffic May 1, when flows on the Mississippi River exceeded 30,000 cubic feet per second.

According to the Corps' Mississippi Valley Division lock and dam regulation manual, the district is required to close the locks because the high flows are unsafe for recreational boats at 30,000 cfs.

The nearly 700 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.

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