MOBILE, Ala. - The Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that George W. Andrews Lock at mile 153.2 on the Chattahoochee River will be closed to boat traffic until further notice.
“During the week of Christmas 2015, the Chattahoochee River basin experienced a tremendous amount of rain which lead to significant increases in releases from Walter F. George and other reservoirs upstream,” said Patrick Robbins, Chief of Public Affairs. “This influx of rain caused flooding and erosion, submerging George W. Andrews Lock and the first floor of the control tower.”
This high water event inundated the lock chamber with silt, debris and other material that accumulated on the miter gates in the chamber and impacted the upper and lower approaches to the lock. The amount of sediment deposited has obstructed the movement of the miter gates to where safe lockage is no longer possible.
The Mobile District will remove the silt and debris as soon as funding is available.
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Release no. 16-015