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Corps of Engineers releases Minneapolis lock and dam statistics

Published Jan. 11, 2016

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, released the 2015 navigation statistics for the Upper Mississippi River today, Jan. 11.

The 2015 season was a year of major change for the three Minneapolis locks – both the Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls locks and Lock and Dam 1. The Corps closed the upper lock to all traffic June 10, 2015, following the passage of the Water Resources Reform Development Act in 2014. The act required the lock to close within one year of the law being signed by the president.

Prior to closing, Corps staff supported 466 lockages at Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam. Additionally, they supported 1,312 lockages at Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and 1,332 lockages at Lock and Dam 1.

Of the cumulative lockages, there were 206 commercial navigation lockages at the upper lock; 899 commercial lockages at the lower lock and 307 commercial lockages at Lock and Dam 1. Collectively, the navigation industry shipped more than 296,000 tons of commodities through the three locks. During the 2014 navigation season, Corps staff supported 535 commercial lockages at the upper lock; 1,009 at the lower lock and 621 at Lock and Dam 1.

In addition to the commercial lockages, Corps staff locked 684 recreation vessels during 252 recreation lockages at the upper lock; 1,268 vessels during 405 lockages at the lower lock and 2,424 vessels during 1,008 lockages at Lock and Dam 1. To minimize lockages, The Corps tries to include multiple recreation vessels during a single lockage. There were an additional eight lockages at the upper lock, eight lockages at the lower lock and 17 lockages at Lock and Dam 1 from various government agencies to include the Corps.

Navigation statistics fluctuate from year to year, depending on the weather, river flows and the length of the navigation season. The St. Paul District maintains a 9-foot navigation channel from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy.

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 2014 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

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Release no. 16-002