By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – Commercial barge operators are planning for delays on the Mississippi River. Starting Monday, Lock 27 near Granite City will be closed for repairs.
For the duration, barges will pass through a smaller auxiliary chamber, which will more than double the time it normally takes to clear the lock.
Paul Rohde with the pro-barge group MARC 2000 says the locks are badly underfunded, creating a pattern of periodic repairs.
"We're starting to reap what we've sown," Rohde said. "Through ignoring the infrastructure, you have all kinds of breakdowns big and small, and they're starting to compound upon each other."
Rohde says it costs the industry $6,000 per day to operate one barge before factoring in delays.
The repairs to Lock 27 are scheduled through August 8, but a delay Monday could keep the lock closed, possibly, until August 23.