A weekend lightning strike at Canaveral Lock will affect boating operations for the early part of this week.
Operators with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will be operating the lock on a restricted schedule. Locking operations will be conducted at the top of every hour between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. at the structure, located between the Banana River and Port Canaveral’s west turning basin along Florida’s Space Coast. The Corps suspended operations Sunday afternoon following the lightning strike, but locking was resumed earlier today (July 4) after delivery of a generator.
“A lightning strike rendered the eastern gate inoperable,” said Candida Bronson, Deputy Operations Division Chief for Jacksonville District. “We moved a portable generator to the site today, and hope to restore the lock to full operations later this week.”
The Corps advises boaters to plan for potential delays over the next three days, while repairs continue.
The Corps finished construction on the lock in 1965 to assist with safe passage from the port to the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of six locks operated by the Jacksonville District. For more information on the district’s lock structures, please visit the following website:
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Navigation/Navigation-Locks. /
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Release no. 16-052