Damaged Illinois River Lock Reopens to Some Barge Traffic

A northern section of the Illinois River reopened to restricted vessel traffic late on Wednesday after a five-day closure for emergency repair and salvage work at a dam that was damaged during historic flooding last month, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had drained the pool of water above the damaged Marseilles Lock and Dam near Seneca, Illinois, late last week to construct a rock dike, the first step of a lengthy repair process, and to remove barges that sank after breaking free from a tow and striking the dam on April 18.

The dike was completed, and one of three sunken barges was removed on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the pool above the dam rose high enough to again support commercial barges and tow boats.

The remaining two sunken barges will be removed pending the arrival of specialized salvage equipment.

The lock was expected to remain open during the repair process, which could take months to complete, the Army Corps said.

Commercial traffic will be allowed access to a restricted work zone between river mile markers 244.6 and 247.8 and will be allowed to pass through the lock only with Coast Guard permission.

Recreational boats will also need prior approval to navigate the area but will only be allowed to pass south through the lock at 3:30 p.m. CDT and north at 4:15 p.m., the Coast Guard said.

The Illinois River bisects the country's No. 2 corn- and soybean-producing state from Chicago to its confluence with the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois.

Both rivers are critical shipping arteries that link grain producers in the Midwest with export terminals at the Gulf, the exit point for about 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports. Shippers also rely on the inland waterways system to transport other commodities, such as fertilizer, coal and oil.

--Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn (C) Reuters 2013.