USACE Vicksburg District issues update to Lindy C. Boggs Lock and Dam closure schedule

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District has postponed the temporary reopening of Lindy C. Boggs Lock and Dam (L&D) on the Red River to Oct. 5 as part of the recent dewatering.

Navigation will be allowed to pass from 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 5 until 6 a.m. on Oct. 14. The district will dewater the downstream gate from 6 a.m. Oct. 14 to 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 12 which will close the lock to navigation.

The original maintenance schedule stated navigation would be allowed to pass starting on Sept. 29 but was delayed due to additional findings found during inspections adding to the original scope of work.  

The district remains committed to communicating Lindy C. Boggs L&D’s status with the Red River Waterway Commission, the Red River Valley Association and other partners and stakeholders.

Boggs L&D is the first lock and dam on the Red River and part of the J. Bennett Johnston (JBJ) Waterway system. Located on the Red River at mile 43.8 about 11 miles north of Marksville, Louisiana, the lock and dam system is part of the Monroe Navigation Project Office and operated by a contracted company.

The J. Bennett Johnston Waterway traverses over 225 miles from its confluence with the Atchafalaya River to Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana.  The waterway includes five locks and dams and five ports, which handle approximately 9 million tons of commodities per year and support over 1,300 jobs.  The waterway offers convenient, cost-effective access to regional, national, and international markets.  Commodities that have been the staple for the ports include refined oil products, fertilizer, construction grade sand & gravel and steel products.

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.