Mississippi River’s Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock Set To Close Tuesday

The Upper St. Anthony Falls lock on the Mississippi River is set to close for good late Tuesday night. Congress passed a bill last year that called for closing the 51-year-old Minneapolis lock as a way to stop the spread of Asian carp.

The final barge shipments of construction material and recycled metal made their way through the lock Tuesday. Recreational boaters were also passing through, some declaring they wanted to be the last to lock through before midnight.

Army Corps of Engineers Operations Officer Capt. Chris Raisl is helping coordinate the closure. They’ll install bulkheads to seal off the lock chamber, but construction is reversible if they were ordered to open the lock again someday.

“This is somewhat of a unique situation, given the political aspects behind the closure, given the low amount of traffic going through the closure,” Raisl said.

As the northernmost lock on the Mississippi, Upper St. Anthony Falls was the least used, but its closure does impact some Twin Cities-area businesses and recreational boaters will have to find other ways to get around St. Anthony Falls.

Army Corps of Engineers staff had to transfer to other locks and dams, take early retirement, or leave the Corps. The closure saves the Corps $480,000 annually.

Raisl said the closure could trickle down and potentially reduce the hours of the Lower St. Anthony Falls lock and Lock 1.