UPDATE 2/3/26
ST. MARY’S, W.Va. — Locking operations have resumed at the Willow Island Locks and Dam on the Ohio River.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported eight vessels locked through overnight and an additional six are waiting to pass through. The U.S. Coast Guard is workign with the local towing industry to clear up the que.
Significant ice accumulation on the lock chamber walls and the chamber doors forced the Corps of Engineers to suspend locking on January 28th. Temperatures rose above freezing by only a few degrees and very briefly Monday afternoon for the first time in nearly two weeks.
Lock operations were able to resume, but they will monitor those operations closely. With Willow Island resuming normal operations there are no other lock delays in the Huntington district.
ST. MARY’S, W. Va. — Barge traffic on the Ohio River remains at a standstill up and down the river from the Willow Island Lock and Dam. Due to extreme ice, the lock is unable to operate and remains closed.
“We are still iced over at Willow Island and it’s still closed due to the ice pack that’s not allowing those gates to open properly,” said Anna-Marie Ward, Spokesperson for the Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Lockmasters had to make the call last week when the ice jam made it impossible to close the gates in the chamber, preventing the lock from filling up with water to elevate barges to pass through. Currently there are 14 tow boats waiting to lock through either upstream or downstream of Willow Island. The vessels are stuck in the water and ice, hoping the locks will soon reopen. Some are loaded with coal headed to distant power plants, which are running constantly to meet the demand for heating in the bitterly cold weather.
“With all the continuing ice formation, they’re trying to keep up with everything, but the ice is just piling up more and more. We are hoping that this week with some warmer temperatures forecasted, we’ll finally be able to flush all of that ice out and return that lock chamber to operational status,” said Ward.
The forecast called for temperatures by mid week to top out around 34 to 36 degrees, which still seems cold, but would be the first time in a couple of weeks in West Virginia the temperature grew above freezing.
Ward added they are dealing with ice problems at all of the locks and dams along the Ohio, but Willow Island remains the only one which is closed.