The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(ST. LOUIS) — The Coast Guard has closed a portion of the Upper Mississippi River to all vessel traffic near St. Louis, Mo., on Tuesday.
Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River has closed traffic at 7:53 p.m. from mile marker 184.5 to mile marker 179, near the MacArthur Bridge, due to high water levels and fast currents.
“We are working closely with our interagency partners and industry stakeholders to mitigate the effects of a historic flooding event on par with the one we experienced in December 2015. Our collective priority is public safety,” said Capt. Martin Malloy, commander, Sector Upper Mississippi River.
The waterways action plan recommends closing this portion of the river during extreme high water levels of 38 feet. Removal of any restrictions to river operations will be re-evaluated as river conditions improve.
The Coast Guard captain of the port determines when to issue a river closure by following a waterways action plan, which provides the marine industry, Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, state and local governments with a plan for facilitating the safe and orderly movement of traffic during extreme conditions on the inland rivers.
A waterways action plan is available at: https://www.uscg.mil/d8/sectUMR/default.asp.
