Notice to Navigators: Illinois River

IWW 2023 Consolidated Closures Update

 

Dear Illinois Waterway Stakeholders,

 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022 provided a significant amount of the remaining funding need to keep the 2023 Consolidated Closures effort for the Illinois Waterway on track.  USACE crews will be headed out this spring to do some prep work for the bulkhead recess installation to be done by contract at Brandon Road Lock this summer, and we are still planning maintenance closures at Marseilles, Starved Rock, Dresden Island and Brandon Road starting in the summer of 2023.  Contracts for extremely long-lead-time fabrications were awarded in Fiscal Year 2021, and we are planning to award a few significant contracts in Fiscal Year 2022 that will allow prep work and mobilization to happen efficiently for the 2023 Closures.  It is expected that the remaining funding needed will be received in the Fiscal Year 2023 President’s Budget.

 

We’d like to thank those of you who continue to advocate for funding to restore the reliability, safety and efficiency of the Illinois Waterway.  The ~120-day closures in 2023 will represent a huge step for the maintenance of our inland marine transportation system, which ultimately benefits the entire Nation.

 

Please visit our website at https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Navigation-Status/ for more information.  We look forward to working with you in the future to plan, educate, and communicate the closure period well in advance, so we can minimize any disruption to the Navigation Industry and the many partners who are served by the Illinois Waterway.

 

Best regards,

 

THOMAS D. HEINOLD, P.E.
Chief, Operations Division
Rock Island District, US Army Corps of Engineers
(309) 794-5401
Thomas.D.Heinold@usace.army.mil