Purpose

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) St. Paul District is responsible for maintaining 244 miles of the Upper Mississippi River 9-foot channel navigation system.

Location

Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Guttenberg, Iowa

Description

The Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project is in or contiguous to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The navigation project within the St. Paul District includes 13 locks and dams that are operated and maintained by USACE. In addition to the locks and dams, the project includes channel maintenance, recreation, and natural resource activities.

Approximately 78 million tons of cargo travels through the St. Paul District each year. The system’s infrastructure is comprised of 10 lock chambers 600 feet long, three lock chambers 400 feet long, 170 dam gates, eight fixed-crest spillways, and 16 miles of embankments acting as dams. Each lock chamber includes two sets of operable steel gates controlling entry to and exit from the lock.

Status

Operation and maintenance of the project is funded annually under USACE’s Civil Works Operations and Maintenance appropriation. Mississippi River funding allocated to the St. Paul District in recent fiscal years has been approximately $100 million.

Authority

The project was authorized as part of the River and Harbor Act approved July 3, 1930. The act authorized the construction, repair and preservation of public works on rivers and harbors and for other purposes.

Funding

Fiscal year 2023
Dam gate and bridge painting, LD 5               $22,400,000
Auxiliary lock closure, LD 8 and LD 9                $9,000,000
Lock Tainter valve replacement, LD 2               $1,600,000

Fiscal year 2024
Miter gates/anchorages, LD 3 and LD 4          $15,300,000
Dewatering inspection/maintenance, LD 2      $4,900,000

Fiscal year 2024: Infrastructure Initiative and Jobs Act (IIJA)
Dam gate maintenance, LD 5                              $3,000,000
Dam gate maintenance, LD 5A                          $16,400,000

Fiscal year 2025
Miter gates, LD 6 and LD 7                                   $3,000,000
Miter gate installation, LD 6 and LD 7                 $2,000,000

Fiscal year 2026
Miter gates, LD 9                                                    $3,000,000
Miter gate installation, LD 9                                 $2,000,000