Five locks and dams on the Illinois River will be closed for almost four months starting in the first week of July. There was some preliminary work on some of the locks last year. Mechanical work will be done this year.
The Marseilles and Starved Rock locks will be completely closed. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District Spokesman Allen Marshall says that means no barge or boat traffic will go through them.
There will also be full closures on the LaGrange and Peoria locks. The Dresden lock in Grundy County will have a partial closure at first, then a complete closure for three weeks in October.
The closure schedule:
LaGrange Lock and Dam – Major Rehabilitation & Lock Machinery Replacement
Full closure scheduled July 1-Sept. 30
Peoria Lock and Dam – Dewatering for Maintenance and Inspection
Full closure scheduled July 6 – Sept. 30
Starved Rock Lock and Dam – Upper & Lower Miter Gate Installation
Full closure scheduled July 1-Oct. 29
Marseilles Lock and Dam – Upper Miter Gate Installation
Full closure scheduled July 6-Oct. 29
Dresden Island Lock and Dam – Upper Bulkhead Recess Installation
Partial Closure scheduled July 6-Oct. 3 and Oct. 25-Oct. 28
Locks operational from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. with a 70-ft width restriction and no ability to pull unpowered barges.
Full Closure scheduled Oct. 4-Oct. 24
More information is available here from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
A machine operator dredges the river at Starved Rock Lock and Dam ahead of miter gate work there next month. Picture from an Army Corps of Engineers video.