From the Illinois Department of Natural Resources:
Stratton Lock to Close September 14
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced the lock facility at Stratton Lock and Dam on the Fox River in McHenry County will close Sept. 14 for the remainder of the navigation season due to ongoing construction.
The lock closure will not impact continued operation of the existing dam gate control structure.
“IDNR has been working to extend the size of the lock, among other improvements, at the facility for several years now and we’re finally eying the finish line,” said Loren Wobig, director of the Office of Water Resources, IDNR.
“This closure will help ensure the project wraps up by the end of the calendar year, allowing boaters use of the new and improved facility for the entirety of the 2021 navigation season.”
More than 24,000 boats and personal watercraft pass through the Stratton lock annually.
Once completed, the construction will improve three components of the facility by replacing the existing gate control structure, extending the lock and rehabilitating the berm on the west side of the Fox River to correct erosion problems.
The closure will continue through the end of October and will require that the lock be fully closed and dewatered.
The facility will then close for the winter beginning Nov. 1 and will reopen in spring of 2021.
Just 24,000 boats pass through that Lock each year?
Heck theres that many out on any weekend by Pistakee Bay.
Its Dan Ryan Expressway time.
Put Jack Franks in that lock, and we can have a real ‘Jack Franks Lockdown’.