The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is preparing to reopen the 9-foot navigation channel along the Mississippi River to commercial navigation.
The Corps and its contractors will begin dredging today, July 25, near Winona, Minn., in Pool 6 from river mile 718 to 724. The Corps is already dredging in Pool 4, near Alma, Wis., at river mile 754. High flows from the June floods caused dredge material to fill areas within the channel.
The Corps needs to remove the material to reestablish the required 9-foot river depth needed for navigation.
The Corps hopes to have the area near Alma reopened later today, and anticipates opening the area near Winona on Tuesday, July 29 with a 100-foot wide pilot channel. The Corps hopes to widen the channel to 200 feet by August 2.
At this time, the dredged material will be placed at various placement sites along the river. The Corps may need to explore additional material placement options should future dredging requirements become necessary.
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Press Release, July 25, 2014