Throughout year, upkeep to close two locks on river

Two locks on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System will be closed for four hours daily for the next year to allow for routine preventive and scheduled maintenance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

The new program will begin Monday at the Trimble Lock near Fort Smith and the Ozark Lock at Ozark, according to a news release from the agency’s Little Rock district.

The maintenance will last from 8 a.m. to noon, but it may be delayed by as much as two hours to allow for the passage of a vessel through the lock, a procedure called a lockage. This allows lock operators the flexibility to complete a lockage before beginning the maintenance, the agency said.

During the maintenance period no lockages will occur, allowing crews to concentrate on maintenance efforts. Signs will be posted at launching ramps, marinas and on the up- and downstream ends of locks to inform the public of the changes in operating hours, the agency said.

Recreational boaters are encouraged to use the public boat ramps to access the upstream or downstream portions of the navigation system to avoid possible extended waiting times that may be experienced due to scheduled maintenance periods.

The Corps is trying the new maintenance schedule to increase the long-term availability of the locks and reduce unscheduled outages, the agency said. It has the agreement of tow operators who use the locks to transport barges, said Laurie Driver, a Corps spokesman. The maintenance program will be evaluated by the Corps annually, the agency said.