The farthest upstream lock on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is reopen to traffic.
The Army Corps of Engineers closed Newt-Graham Lock and Dam 18 for more than a week. Crews found worse-than-expected damage when they drained the lock to fix leaks they had monitored for several months.
A rubber seal the Corps expected would be damaged was misshapen and loose in spots.
But some of the worst damage was caused by tree trunks swept into the water. Portions of the 185-ton steel gates bent where they closed on the trunks and other debris.
The extra damage added two days to the repair time.
"These things happen all the time," said Corps spokesman Ross Adkins, "And that's why we have to occasionally go in there, dewater the lock, take a look, and if there's damage, get it repaired so we don't have an unexpected closure of the lock."
While the state's shipping industry can deal with scheduled maintenance shutdowns of the navigation system's various locks and dams, surprise closures can be costly.
"The whole idea was to get it repaired so we don't have any unexpected or unannounced closures, which will actually cost the industry about — a little over $1 million a day when we have to close a lock," said Adkins.
Barges carry about 13 million tons of cargo along the navigation system each year.
The Newt-Graham Lock and Dam is about seven miles south of Inola and is 24.8 miles of navigable water from the Port of Catoosa.
