Waterways Council

Illinois River locks and dams to close for repair work

A much-anticipated three-month closure of parts of the Illinois Waterway for major repairs to aging navigation infrastructure gets underway tomorrow, July 1, and will run through the end of October.

The shutdowns will affect barge traffic through this major waterway, which carries more than 29 million tons of cargo each year — mainly agricultural and industrial products — and consists of rivers, lakes and canals that provide a shipping link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.

Closure...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/illinois-river-locks-and-dams-to-close-july-1-for-repair-work/

Coronavirus update: No TWIC card delays, transportation infrastructure bill shows promise

The 2016 graduating class of Kings Pointers stand during their graduation ceremony at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, June 18. U.S. Army photo.

Here are some of the latest developments on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting parts of the maritime industry.

  • The Transportation Security Administration said that there are currently no delays in the production or issuance of TWIC cards. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications at least 60-to-90 days before a current card’s expiration, and to opt to have the new document mailed so that a trip to a public enrollment center can be avoided. While some enrollment centers have closed...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coronavirus-update-no-twic-card-delays-transportation-infrastructure-bill/

Trump signs spending bills with big increases for waterways and maritime programs

A tow at Locks 27 on the Mississippi River near St. Louis. USACE photo.

President Trump signed into law two massive spending bills on Dec. 20 that include healthy budgets for ongoing inland waterways construction and maintenance as well as port dredging and investment, while also signing a defense bill that supports shipyard grants and would ease the transition from military to mariner jobs.

The legislative action on 12 spending bills, coming just days after the president’s impeachment vote in the House, avoided a government shutdown over the holidays that would...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/trump-signs-spending-bills-with-big-increases-for-waterways-and-maritime-programs/

Barge operators face Illinois Waterway closures, with more to come

The Starved Rock Lock and Dam is one of six sites on the Illinois Waterway where the Corps of Engineers plans to make major repairs. Corps of Engineers Rock Island District photo

Barge operators that use the Illinois Waterway will face the first round of closures in June as preliminary work begins on major repairs to six of eight lock and dam sites along the system that will begin next summer and carry into 2023.

In preparation for significant work next year, bulkhead slots will be installed at Marseilles and Starved Rock locks this summer, requiring a partial closure and width restrictions for 92 days. A full lock closure will then occur for 14 days to install the sill...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/barge-operators-face-illinois-waterway-closures-with-more-to-come/

Inland waterways development making progress, more to do, WCI official says

WCI wants a permanent change in the IWTF to 75 percent federal and 25 percent trust fund. Ken Hocke photo

The inland waterways are enjoying a healthy infusion of federal support for building and maintaining an aging lock and dam system, but unprecedented Midwest flooding and an ongoing trade war with China are taking a toll on river transportation, the head of the Waterways Council Inc. said on Monday.

As a result of a formula change made by Congress in 2014 to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF), which covers the cost of new infrastructure spending on the rivers, more money has become available...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/inland-waterways-development-making-progress-more-to-do/

Opposition from GOP and conservatives imperil Trump’s infrastructure plan

On June 7, 2017, President Donald Trump announced infrastructure plans before the backdrop of a flag-draped barge filled with coal. White House image.

A week after top Democrats and the White House reached a tentative accord to repair the country’s transportation system, the bipartisan gesture seems to be in trouble, putting into question whether promises made by President Trump two years ago on the Ohio River to repair the inland waterways system and other national infrastructure can finally move forward.

The $2 trillion deal reached last Tuesday between the president and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/opposition-from-gop-and-conservatives-imperil-trumps-infrastructure-plan/

WorkBoat Show: Funding hits record levels for inland waterways

Vessels transport equipment for Olmsted Lock and Dam construction in 2012. USACE photo by Mark Wise.

The inland waterways have enjoyed two consecutive years of strong funding from Congress, which helped with the completion of the Olmsted locks and dam project in Illinois, and funding for other projects to improve efficiency of river transportation, Michael Toohey, president and CEO of the Waterways Council said at the International WorkBoat Show Thursday.

“We have been able to make $8.8 million in capital improvements so we can continue to compete internationally,” Toohey told Inland Waterways...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/workboat-show-funding-hits-record-levels-for-inland-waterways/

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