Quad Cities Boaters Face 2.5 Hour Waits as Army Corps Closes Auxiliary Lock at Dam 14
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is closing the auxiliary lock at Lock and Dam 14 this summer due to staffing shortages. Quad Cities recreational boaters now face waits of up to 2.5 hours to pass through the main commercial lock.
Recreational boaters on the Mississippi River are facing delays of more than two hours this summer after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it will close the auxiliary lock at Lock and Dam 14 in Pleasant Valley, Iowa. The closure means small boats must now share the main commercial lock chamber with barges, and they are last in line.
A staffing shortage shuts the small-boat lock
The Corps cited a lack of personnel as the reason for the change. The auxiliary lock has traditionally been open on weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day for recreational vessels. This summer it will not operate at all.
"We have a staffing shortage right now, and we need to concentrate our limited resources on the commercial locks," said Tom Heinold, chief of operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District.
Heinold told KWQC that the lock master will direct recreational boaters to the main lock. Recreational vessels rank lowest in priority, behind government and commercial traffic.
Two and a half hour waits
Boaters say the change fundamentally alters how they use the river. Recreational boaters who follow a barge through the main lock must wait for the commercial vessel to clear before they can enter. That process takes roughly two and a half hours.
"For us to be able to boat through the main lock, if you follow a barge, it's two and a half hours wait for the barge to go through before pleasure boaters can make it into the thing," said Dale Ruplinger, a Quad Cities boater. "And the same thing when you're at the upper pool."
Another local boater, Tom Satterly, questioned whether taxpayers should bear the impact of staffing decisions.
"I know that they're shorthanded, but I also know that we pay a lot of tax dollars," Satterly said. "They should be able to figure that out. It shouldn't have to limit how we live our lives in the Quad Cities."
Businesses worry about lost traffic
Ruplinger warned that riverfront businesses in the upper pool could feel the effects. Many recreational boaters head north of Lock and Dam 14 for quieter waters and to patronize local establishments.
"A lot of the times we like to go up above 14 into that quiet water," Ruplinger said. "There's a lot of businesses up in the upper pool."
What stays open
Lock and Dam 15 in Rock Island will keep its auxiliary lock open on weekdays, but it will also lack dedicated weekend staffing. Every other Lock and Dam on the Mississippi has only a single lock, making 14 and 15 the only two with secondary chambers for small boats.
The Corps said it is evaluating staffing plans for July 4th and for Tugfest, a major riverside event in the Quad Cities. No decision on reopening the auxiliary lock for those dates has been made.
Safety warning
Heinold also urged boaters to exercise caution around commercial traffic. Barge tows have limited visibility in front of the vessels they push.
"They can't see out in front of the barges that they're pushing. So be very, very careful," Heinold said.
He noted that two-thirds of boating fatalities are drowning deaths, and most of those victims were not wearing life jackets.