DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – Locks and dams on the Illinois River are currently shut down for extensive repairs on a waterway which moves 40 million tons of farm, fuel, coal and manufactured goods each year.
The LaGrange Lock and Dam, located north of Jacksonville and about 8 miles south of Beardstown, was built between 1936 and 1939. Its life expectancy was just 50 years but has now been in service nearly 81 years.
In addition to LaGrange, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is repairing four other locks and dams on the Illinois River at the same time, leading to the closure of barge traffic on the river. The goal will be to complete the projects by October 1, 2020 in time for the fall harvest.
“We’re going to do everything we can to push them to make sure that happens,” Congressman Rodney Davis, (R-Illinois), told WAND News. “Hopefully, the weather is going to hold out and we’re going to see completion on time so our farmers and manufacturers can utilize that very important lock and dam as we move into the harvest season.”
In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated it will cost nearly $5 billion over 20 years to repair and upgrade the nation's aging locks and dams. Work on the Illinois River is estimated to cost between $150 million and $200 million. Products shipped down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers go to export terminals in New Orleans to be exported around the world.
