Ortona Lock is just east of unlighted daybeacon #1 and flashing daybeacon #2 and normally opens on demand. These opening restrictions have been ongoing for most of this year, see /156232.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Repairs impact operations at Ortona Lock

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District is advising boaters on the Okeechobee Waterway that they could encounter delays as they navigate through Ortona Lock due to repairs. The Corps has developed an alternate locking schedule that will be in effect during replacement of guide walls on either side of the lock. The schedule
will be in effect when work obstructs the navigation channel or whenever divers are in the area. The repair work is expected to last through the rest of the summer.
“These adjustments are necessary to facilitate replacement of these aging guide walls east and west of the lock structure,” said Steve Dunham, chief of the Corps’ South Florida Operations Office, which has oversight of the
facility. “We recognize this may cause some inconvenience to boaters, but it represents the best compromise to allow traffic to pass while still undertaking these necessary repairs.”

As necessary during the repair period, the Corps will operate the lock on the following alternate schedule:
. 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Lock open
. 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Lock closed for repair work
. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lock open
. 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Lock closed for repair work
. 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lock open

The alternate schedule above only applies Monday through Friday. The Corps will operate the lock on demand from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays, with last lockage beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Ortona Lock is located on the Caloosahatchee River in Glades County about 15 miles west of Moore Haven and about 40 miles east of Fort Myers. The Corps finished construction on the structure in 1937 as part of a project that
created the Okeechobee Waterway, a 154-mile route that connects the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean. Ortona is one of five locks on the waterway, and one of six operated by the Corps’ Jacksonville District.

The Corps has issued a Notice to Navigation this subject. For more information on navigation notices concerning Ortona Lock or any other structures on the Okeechobee Waterway, please visit the following website:
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Navigation/NoticestoNavigation.aspx

John H Campbell
Public Affairs Specialist
Jacksonville District, US Army Corps of Engineers
Jacksonville, FL
Office: 904-232-1004
Mobile: 904-614-9134
Join our online communities: http://about.me/usacejax/

Click Here To View the Okeechobee Cruisers’ Net Bridge Directory Listing For Ortona Lock

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Ortona Lock