Up Date On Closure:
SPOTLIGHT ON THE UPCOMING CLOSURE OF THE INDUSTRIAL LOCK
The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (INHC) Lock in New Orleans, commonly referred to as the Industrial Lock, is one of the busiest structures along the inland waterways. The upcoming planned 120 day outage may have an impact on logistics planning for projects along the Gulf Coast. The outage is scheduled to commence on August 01, 2016.
The U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers (USACE) has established a temporary alternate route to be used during the lock closure. The Chandeleur Sound Alternate Route will run from Bayou Baptiste Colette (which is just above Venice, LA), crossing Breton Sound and Chandeleur Sound, to the intersection of the Gulfport Ship Channel and the Intracoastal Waterway.
While utilization of this alternate route adds approximately 75 miles of transit to Gulfport and destinations further east, the impact on transit times may in some instances be less significant as you will avoid standby delay at the INHC Lock. This delay can typically range from 12 to 24 hours, and occasionally, up to 48 hours.
Canal Barge, through our industry organization GICA (Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association), has worked closely with the USACE on developing a plan to continue to safely navigate the alternate route and minimize the impact on commerce. The USACE will be regularly providing updates via their website here.