Damaged Lock Stalls Ohio River Traffic

River traffic is backing up after the second gate failure in five months at an Army Corps of Engineers lock and dam on the Ohio River system.

According to the Ashland (Ky.) Independent, two dozen tows waited on Friday to clear an auxiliary lock at Greenup (Ky.) Lock and Dam. An anchoring bar on one of the miter gates in the main lock broke on Jan. 27. The Corps opened the auxiliary on Feb. 1.

Officials said it will take six to eight weeks to return the Greenup lock to service. The lock and dam are about 24 miles downstream from Huntington, W.Va. According to the Waterways Council, the incident is the seventh closure at Greenup in the last 13 years, and has cost more than $26 million in transportation delays.

Five months before the Greenup gate broke, a miter gate broke on a 1,200-foot lock at the Markland (Ky.) Locks and Dam near Cincinnati, forcing traffic to use a 600-foot auxilliary lock. The Corps said that two leaves of the gate have been repaired and sent back to Markland.