The navigation season on the Upper Mississippi River closes soon, and the U-S Army Corps of Engineers says by December 1st all vessels should be downstream from Lock and Dam Six at Trempeleau, Wisconsin (about 10 miles south of Winona). Spokesman Patrick Moes says it’s particularly important because of scheduled repairs on that lock-and-dam, plus facilities near Alma Wisconsin, Minnesota City, and Fountain City Wisconsin. “In order to get those repairs in time for the 2019 navigation season, we really need to get those crewmen working,” he says. “We need those guys in there to start those critical repairs.” Moes adds, “A lot of these locks were built in the 1930s, so there’s a lot of maintenance and repair that goes into maintaining something that is upwards of 80 years old.”
The Corps’ Minneapolis locks — Lower Saint Anthony Falls plus Lock and Dam One — close for navigation November 18th.