Chicago River handles traffic from O’Brien lock closure

(Above) T. J. O’Brien Lock and Dam on the Calumet River, part of the Illinois Waterway that includes the Chicago River. Photo by Carol Arney, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Click on image to view larger version.)

December 12, 2014 – The United States Coast Guard is impressed with how the Chicago River has handled an increase in barge traffic in recent weeks due to a scheduled closing of a lock on the Calumet River.

The Thomas J. O’Brien Lock is the last stop before Lake Michigan for many barges. The lock has been in operation since 1960 and the United States Army Corps of Engineers calls it “an aging structure which is at an increasing risk of failure.”

The lock has been closed since November 3 for critical maintenance. That has sent barge traffic north to the Chicago River. The lock will reopen no earlier than December 20 but will be closed again from January 19 to March 6.

“The tug and barge industry has really taken this issue and managed it without anybody else’s help and coordinated all these moves and the queuing here at the Chicago lock and it seems as though everything has been working very well,” said Commander Ryan Manning (left), commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Chicago.

After meeting with the project manager for the lock maintenance on Tuesday, Manning says the upcoming opening may be delayed one or two days but the maintenance work being done now will last another 20 to 30 years.

Michael Borgstrom, president of Chicago Harbor Safety Committee and Wendella Sightseeing Company, is impressed with what he has seen.

“I think with the increased barge traffic coming through here and a lot of these guy who have never really been through the Chicago River, they’ve done very well,” says Borgstrom (right in photo).

Don Campbell, manager of Kindra Lake Towing, which moves barges along the Chicago River and throughout the Great Lakes, says a system of lining up barges to go through the river has been working.

“When it was first was announced that they were closing, we thought the worst. It’s going to be terrible with all these barges up in the area. Luckily, it’s worked out well. A lot has to be said for all the coordination and cooperation with everyone involved.”

Traffic on the river has slowed for the season and so the next scheduled closure of the lock in January is not expected to cause any issues.