Shelley Byrne, Author at The Waterways Journal

Mariner Drowns After Falling Overboard

July 10, 2020

A crew member on the mv. Mary Artie Brannon went overboard July 5, and his body was recovered less than two hours later. Perry County, Ind., Coroner Warren Taylor identified… Read More

Southern FS Opens Fertilizer Facility At Paducah Riverport Southern FH’s new fertilizer-handling facility at the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport includes five conveyor belts and 14 fertilizer bays, each of which hold 900 to 1,000 tons of fertilizer. The fertilizer arrives by barge and is then distributed by truck to 16 Southern FS locations. (Photo by Kyle Glisson/Southern FS)

Southern FH’s new fertilizer-handling facility at the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport includes five conveyor belts and 14 fertilizer bays, each of which hold 900 to 1,000 tons of fertilizer. The fertilizer arrives by barge and is then distributed by truck to 16 Southern FS locations. (Photo by Kyle Glisson/Southern FS)

Southern FS Opens Fertilizer Facility At Paducah Riverport

July 10, 2020

Southern FS, an agriculture, fuel and propane company, has opened a state-of-the-art fertilizer handling facility at the Paducah-McCracken County (Ky.) Riverport Authority’s bulk terminal complex. The 224- by 131-foot building… Read More

Ohio Maritime Assistance Program Announces First Grant Recipients

July 8, 2020

Two river terminal operators received a total of more than $1.43 million in grants from the state of Ohio recently through the new Ohio Maritime Assistance Program. S.H. Bell Company… Read More

Seamen’s Church Institute Offers Free Online COVID-19 Office Course This screenshot shows the title page for Seamen’s Church Institute’s free, interactive e-learning course, focusing on best office policies for preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

This screenshot shows the title page for Seamen’s Church Institute’s free, interactive e-learning course, focusing on best office policies for preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Seamen’s Church Institute Offers Free Online COVID-19 Office Course

July 2, 2020

The Seamen’s Church Institute wants to help businesses whose employees are returning to the office by offering a new, free e-learning course on limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus. Read More

Louisville Engineer District Closes McAlpine North Lock For Repairs —Louisville Engineer District The heavy capacity repair fleet removes miter gate leaves from McAlpine Locks and Dam’s north lock on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., to allow dewatering. The chamber will remain closed through mid-November.

—Louisville Engineer District The heavy capacity repair fleet removes miter gate leaves from McAlpine Locks and Dam’s north lock on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., to allow dewatering. The chamber will remain closed through mid-November.

Louisville Engineer District Closes McAlpine North Lock For Repairs

July 2, 2020

Cranes lifted miter gate leaves high in the air as a five-month closure of the north lock chamber got underway recently at McAlpine Locks and Dam in Louisville. The 1,200-foot… Read More

Bid Approved For New Cumberland River Bridge Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. A rendering shows a tow passing beneath the new U.S. 60 bridge over the Cumberland River to be built at Smithland, Ky.

Photo courtesy of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. A rendering shows a tow passing beneath the new U.S. 60 bridge over the Cumberland River to be built at Smithland, Ky.

Bid Approved For New Cumberland River Bridge

July 2, 2020

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has approved a construction bid for a new bridge carrying U.S. 60 across the Cumberland River at Smithland. Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers, Ky., submitted… Read More

Contract Dispute Could Disrupt Cave-In-Rock Ferry Service

June 26, 2020

A contract with the operator of the Cave-in-Rock Ferry on the Ohio River is due to lapse after June 30, and its continued operation remains uncertain. Keith Todd, spokesman for… Read More

New Paducah Port Director Seeks Growth Opportunities

June 26, 2020

As the new executive director of the Paducah-McCracken County Port Authority in Paducah, Ky., Tim Cahill brings with him international experience, working around the globe for companies involved in commodities,… Read More

Olmsted Locks Through First 2020 Tows

—Photo courtesy of Louisville Engineer District Two upbound tows lock through at Olmsted Locks and Dam in September 2019. In June, the Corps raised the wickets for the first time in 2020, the fourth time since Olmsted opened in August 2018. By Shelley Byrne River traffic has locked through the twin 1,200-foot-by-110-foot chambers at Olmsted Locks and Dam for the first time this year and only the fourth time in the project’s history. “The weather conditions over the past couple of years have been unique, but raising it in June is much more normal,” said Ryan Lawrence, assistant operations manager for the Louisville Engineer District’s locks and dams project office. Olmsted personnel began raising the wicket dam June 18. It had also been raised in August 2018, August 2019 and November 2019, for a total of about 100 days, Lawrence said. The longest period was in August 2019, when the wicket dam held pool for 62 days at 301.5 feet above sea level, maintaining the pool 46 river miles, back to the Smithland Locks and Dam. A more typical elevation at Olmsted is 295 to 300 feet, based on a hinged pool that takes advantage of the natural slope of the river. Crews began lowering the wickets June 23 in response to rainfall in the upper Ohio Valley, but Lawrence said they may need to go back up again in another two weeks or so, given current forecasting that calls for less rain and a falling Mississippi River. The Corps said it expects to raise and lower the wickets an average of four times each season. “But so far we haven’t really had an average year,” Lawrence said. “You do what needs to be done to maintain the river elevations.” Given the weather so far this year, the Corps believes this season may be much closer to a typical one than the last two have been. However, Lawrence cautioned, “As we saw last year, there’s no real way to know. We look at historical trends and what we expect with weather patterns.” Although the Corps had plenty of experience with wickets at the former Locks and Dams 52 and 53, Olmsted modernized the process when it opened in August 2018 on the Ohio River near Olmsted, Ill. In addition, instead of a hook blindly grabbing for a bar on the wickets beneath the water, GPS and a sonar camera aid the process. “They really took the things they learned from 52 and 53 and implemented and improved those things here,” Lawrence said. The Corps has less experience using tainter gates combined with a wicket dam to control flow. Olmsted has five tainter gates, while the former projects didn’t have any, although other Ohio River locks and dams in the district have them. The gates can be opened and closed to maintain the pool without raising and lowering the wickets as frequently. “We’re definitely still learning that,” Lawrence said, adding that Olmsted has a unique combination of factors since high water on the Mississippi River can back up the Ohio to as far as Olmsted and since levels on Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River, Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River and on the Ohio at Smithland

Olmsted Locks Through First 2020 Tows

June 26, 2020

River traffic has locked through the twin 1,200-foot-by-110-foot chambers at Olmsted Locks and Dam for the first time this year and only the fourth time in the project’s history. “The… Read More

AIWA Seeks Continued Funding To Decrease Dredging Backlog

June 24, 2020

Catching up on a backlog of dredging takes time, but the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) says progress is being made. In 2016, the backlog for dredging along the waterway… Read More

Author: Shelley Byrne