Repairs to halt barges on upper Mississippi River

By Lisa Shumaker

CHICAGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Emergency repairs to a lock will halt barge traffic on the upper Mississippi River for eight days tentatively starting March 31, said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday.

There is no axillary chamber at Lock and Dam 25 near Winfield, Missouri, so the repairs will halt barge traffic in both directions about 60 miles north of St. Louis. Grain exporters already were trying to secure extra soybeans and corn for April in anticipation of the repairs disrupting shipments, grain traders said.

Pins holding the lower gates to the wall have begun to come loose, traders said.

"We know what an impact it is to have the lock closed," said Army Corps spokeswoman Nicole Dalrymple. "Ideally, we like to schedule the closures but it's just at a point where they need to make the repairs now."

The Missouri and Illinois rivers flow into the Mississippi River at St. Louis, making it a key point for barge traffic.

The Mississippi River is the main channel for grain flowing from production areas in the Midwest to the export terminals at the Gulf. Between 55 and 65 percent of all U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports leave from the Gulf. (Editing by David Gregorio)