Coast Guard December 5, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard announces a public meeting to receive comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Illinois Waterway, Joliet, IL'' that was published in the Federal Register on August 27, 2014. As stated in the NPRM, the Coast Guard proposes to modify the operating regulations for six drawbridges, located between river mile 285.8 and river mile 288.7, across the Illinois Waterway, at Joliet, Illinois. The NPRM proposes to consolidate the current operating regulation, which includes five on-site bridge tender control stations, into one centralized control point for all five drawbridges. The NPRM also proposes to add a sixth drawbridge that will also operate under the centralized control point. The proposed action is intended to improve navigational safety and operational efficiency in the Joliet area.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Louisiana State Route 23 (LA 23) vertical lift span bridge, also known as the Judge Perez Bridge, across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Algiers Alternate Route), mile 3.8, at Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. This deviation is necessary to provide for the safe movement of vehicular traffic during major plant reconstruction on one side of the waterway and the resulting change in work schedule and increase in workforce transiting the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain temporarily closed to navigation for an additional one hour in the evening during weekdays for five weeks.