Lockages up in 2012 for Lock & Dam No. 3

More river traffic passed through Lock & Dam No. 3 near Red Wing in 2012 than the previous year, numbers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show.

During the 2012 season, there were 4,536 lockages that moved nearly 10,000 vessels through the locks.

Those lockages included:

• 1,402 for commercial navigation,

• 3,100 for recreational boats and

• 34 additional lockages from government watercraft or a similar group.

There were 8,593 recreational vessels that were locked through. Typically, the lock operator will allow multiple recreation boats within the chamber during a lock.

During the previous year, there were only about 9,400 total vessels that passed through the lock.

In addition, more material moved through the lock in 2012 than in 2011. The commercial navigation industry transported 6.97 million tons of commodities through the lock in 2012. During the previous navigation season, only 6.75 million tons of cargo passed through the lock.

The Corps of Engineers said that fluctuations in navigation statistics are normal and can be affected by weather, river flows and the length of the navigation season.

In addition, Lock 3 has been under reconstruction for a few seasons.

The 2012 lock season opened March 17 and ended when the motor vessel “Show Me State” was locked through Lock & Dam 2, near Hastings Nov. 28.

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