The Kentucky Lock is closed to all traffic between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for up to five days beginning Monday through Friday.
The Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Facebook the closure is required to expedite an unexpected construction condition in the downstream cofferdam of the new lock. A contractor discovered last week a concrete slab underwater in the lock's lower approach.
The slab has to be partially removed to facilitate cofferdam construction. A cofferdam is a watertight, dry enclosure below the waterline for construction work.
The removal of the slab will require the contractor to locate where passing vessel traffic will not be feasible.
The Nashville District said the lock will reopen promptly after the slab's removal and will cease closures if flows on the Cumberland River are not conducive for navigation through Barkley Lock or if the Kentucky Lock queue grows to an unacceptable level.
