The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead with locks and dams upgrades on the Illinois River which will cause three lock closures which will in turn delay barge traffic. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek is pleased they’re going ahead with the upgrades but is hoping it’s done in a timely fashion.
He says the Corps is somewhat limited by weather as to when they can do the upgrades which presents more challenges.
Steenhoek says having a later than usual harvest this year is one positive factor as it relates to the work on the locks and dams.
One of the problems with the Illinois River is that it’s basically open year round making it difficult to do repairs unlike the Upper Mississippi River Locks that close for the winter which allows repairs to be made at that time.
