R.G. Edmonson | May 06, 2011 4:23PM EDT
Flood waters on the Ohio River are high enough that barges can navigate over fixed dams, the Army Corps of Engineers reported Friday.
Five locks along the lower Ohio River remain closed since April 26, but the Corps is allowing navigation over the dam at John T. Myers locks and dam at Mt. Vernon, Ill., locks and dam 53 at Brookport, Ill., and locks and dam 52 at Green Chain, Ill.
The river is closed at Smithland locks and dam at Hamletsburg, Ill. Tows are prohibited from transiting because of hazardous conditions that remain at high water.
Elsewhere in the system, the locks are closed on the tributary Kaskaskia River in Illinois. Green River locks 1 and 2, on the Kentucky River, and Kentucky lock on the Tennessee River are closed.
All locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi are open.
The Coast Guard earlier today established a safety zone on the Mississippi near Caruthersville, Mo., to prevent vessel wakes from over topping the city’s flood wall. The zone remains in effect until May 14.
-- Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com.
