![]() ![]() Army Corps of Engineers navigation program. How long can you expect that to last?" said Jim Walker, director of navigation policy and legislation for the American Association of Port Authorities, who formerly ran the U.S. "You're using this infrastructure that was essentially built by our grandparents. But more than half of the country's locks and dams are at least 50 years old, and funding has not kept up with demand for maintenance. Traffic through the Brazos gates has surged by 40 percent over the last three years, channeling more than 2.5 million tons of cargo a month to support a strengthening U.S. The wooden sides of the channel are pocked from scrapes and bumps. The Brazos floodgates and their bank walls take more hits from boats and barges than any other of the 242 locks and dams among American rivers - about one every four days, staff estimated. "It's like a small freight train on ice," assistant lockmaster Robert George said. The 60-degree angle boats must turn while navigating the river between the gates is one of the toughest stretches to maneuver. ![]() Towing barge carrying 3,500 tons of liquid asphalt slides through the 75-foot-wide east gate toward Galveston, churning more silt behind it. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show LessįREEPORT - Laps of muddy water whirl through the open floodgates where the Brazos River meets the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show Less 4 of4 The Brazos floodgates and their bank walls are struck more often than any of the other 242 locks and dams along American rivers. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show Less 3 of4 Mark Teague, an operator of the Brazos River east gate in Freeport, watches as a vessel passes through. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show Less 2 of4 Mark Teague, an operator of the Brazos River east gate in Freeport, watches as a vessel passes through. About 1,300 vessels pass through a month carrying commercial goods. ![]() The floodgate construction started in 1941 and it still works, but it needs to be modernized and widen. Got into the city harbor just as a "wild game cook-off" was starting at the adjacent park.1 of4 A 54-foot wide chemical barge carrying 3,500 tons of liquid asphalt passes through the 75-foot wide Brazos River floodgate east gate, Tuesday, March 24, 2015, in Freeport. By late morning, the zero foul current near the lock exits was gone for the second time and we had our speed reduced by 1/2 to 3/4 knot as we made our way to Decatur. Joe Wheeler lock was next, after two hours, and we went straight through without delay. Rain squalls passed by all morning making visibility difficult, but there was no traffic on the lake. We locked through just prior to 0700 with a lift of 96 feet! Exiting the lock revealed a wide expanse of Lake Wilson. We had to pass a barge in the narrow approach channel in the dark. We pulled out of the marina in full darkness at 0545 in order to get to the lock in time. We buddied up with one other boat that was going in the same direction and chose the former. We either had to be there prior to 0700 or prepare for a very lengthy wait. A call to the Wilson Lock and Dam lockmaster the day before indicated that they would begin locking through downbound (we are upbound) commercial traffic at 0700 the next morning. ![]()
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