ACBL sets upper Mississippi closure schedule

Major barge carrier American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) this week issued tentative dates for final loadings before the upper Mississippi River closes for the winter.

The final loading date for Houston shipments to Dubuque, Iowa, through St Paul, Minnesota, will be 26 September. Houston vessels with a stop between Louisiana, Missouri, through Clinton, Iowa, will have their final loading date on 10 October.

St Louis, Missouri, vessels heading north to Dubuque through St Paul must leave before 22 October, and vessels stopping between Louisiana, Missouri, or Clinton, Iowa must leave before 5 November.

Final southbound departure dates for vessels from St Paul and Dubuque will be 24 November and 1 December, respectively. Vessels in Clinton must begin moving south by 8 December. Crews need 10 days to prepare and unload barges, ACBL said, which added that dates may be pushed forward or back depending on operating conditions and weather.

Other barge carriers are expected to release final loading dates in the coming weeks, along with the US Army Corps of Engineers official upper Mississippi River closure date. The upper Mississippi River officially closed on 3 December last winter and reopened around 12 March.

By Meghan Yoyotte