Purpose

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 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 the Corps. In addition to the locks and dams, the project includes channel maintenance, recreation, and natural resource activities.

Approximately 18 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 the Corps’ Civil Works Operations and Maintenance appropriation. Mississippi River funding allocated to the St. Paul District in recent fiscal years has hovered around $100 million.

Authority

The project was authorized as part of the Rivers and Harbors 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

FY 2023:

Dam Gate & Bridge Painting LD 5             $22,400,000

Auxiliary Lock Closure LD 8 & 9                 $9,000,000

Lock Tainter Valve Replace LD2                   $1,600,000 

FY 2024:

Miter Gates / Anchorages LD 3 & 4            $15,300,000

Dewatering Inspection /Maint. LD2              $4,900,000

FY 2024 Infrastructure Initiative and Jobs Act (IIJA):

Dam Gate Maintenance LD 5                       $3,000,000

Dam Gate Maintenance LD 5A                   $16,400,000