A failure in a gate at the Demopolis Lock and Dam on Jan. 16 shut down the structure and stopped all commercial and recreational traffic along the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Equipment, materials and manpower have been moved to the site to repair the gate but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated it will be May at the earliest before the river can be reopened to boat traffic. The closure will have a major adverse effect on industries using the lock. One report said [post_excerpt].5 billion in cargo is shipped annually on the Black...

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