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• Repairs to start Thursday on Winona bridge
• Coast Guard closes Mississippi River to commercial traffic near Diamond Bluff

By Wheeler News Service

Emergency repairs will begin by Thursday on Wisconsin's only link to Winona, Minn.

Fifteen corroded gusset plates will be fixed on the Winona bridge over the Mississippi River.

Minnesota's Department of Transportation says the most critical repairs will be made first so heavy commercial trucks can get back on the bridge as soon as possible.

Bicyclists and pedestrians will have to wait until next month. Edward Kraemer and Sons of Sauk County received an emergency contract for the project, worth $108,000.

The Winona bridge was shut down for 11 days in June while the corrosion was inspected. It's now open to cars and light trucks.

MnDOT says lane closings are likely during the repair work. However, at least one lane will be open at all times, and two lanes will be available during rush hour.

After two tow boats and their barges ran aground on July 6, the U.S. Coast Guard has closed the Mississippi River to commercial shipping traffic in an area just upriver from Diamond Bluff.

Officials with the St. Paul District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended to the Coast Guard that the river be closed in the area because sediment build up in the river had caused the groundings.

Coast Guard officials then closed the shipping channel on July 7, from Mile 801 to 807, approximately four miles upstream of Lock and Dam No. 3.

The Corps sent a contractor to the area and dredging began Monday.

The contractor is using a backhoe mounted on a barge to dredge the material from the river bottom. It is then placed on a barge and taken to another location for unloading.

The Corps estimates that the channel should re-open later this evening (Tuesday) or Wednesday morning.

Corps officials said recreational traffic has not been restricted at this time. However, they advise boaters to slow down and use extreme caution when traveling past the dredging equipment.