IHNC Lock Comment Period Extended Again
The New Orleans Engineer District has announced the extension of the comment period regarding the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lock Replacement draft general reevaluation report (GRR) and integrated supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS).
The comment period, originally set to end September 2, has been extended for 10 days and will now end on September 12. This is the second extension the New Orleans District has put in place. The initial 45-day public review and comment period began May 30, and the New Orleans District already extended it for another 45 days.
Deputy district engineer Durund Elzey and New Orleans District staff highlighted the importance of industry comments at the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA) seminar held in New Orleans. The association emphasized that feedback from industry businesses and professionals is vital for the Corps to understand how the new lock can best meet the needs of the community and move the project forward.
The IHNC Lock will replace the original lock that is more than 102 years old. The existing structure is a deep-draft lock and originally was built to support ship traffic on the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and the now-decommissioned Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO). The MRGO was decommissioned after Hurricane Katrina.
According to the Corps, the lock’s small size and maintenance needed to keep it operational has resulted in the longest average transit times and second longest average delay times in the country.
During the GICA seminar, Elzey explained that construction of the new IHNC Lock is projected to begin in 2034, with design phases beginning in 2029. The current estimate for completion of the project is 2048.
The draft report, as well as the Community Impact Mitigation Plan and the Traffic Mitigation Program and Clean Water Act 404(b)(1) Public Notice, are available on the New Orleans District website. The report can also be found at the Alvar and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. libraries in New Orleans, and materials from a June 28 open house and public meeting are available online.
Comments may be directed to ihnclockreplacement@usace.army.mil or mailed to the New Orleans District office at 7400 Leake Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118.
The existing lock, which opened to navigation in 1923, measures 640 feet by 75 feet with a 31.5-foot depth. The Corps plans to replace it with a shallow-draft chamber measuring 900 feet by 110 feet with a depth of 22 feet.
The current cost estimate for the project, which will also include the replacement of the St. Claude Avenue bridge that spans the canal, is about $4.68 billion, cost shared between the federal treasury and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. At that price, about $3.51 billion would come from the general treasury, and about $1.17 billion would come from the trust fund. At that price, the Corps calculated the benefit to cost ratio for the project at 1.03.
