Schooner Bayou navigation precautions extended through November

Navigation precautions at Schooner Bayou Control Structure now extend through November 30, 2026, under an August 18 update from the Army Corps of Engineers. The warning applies daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. while a federal contractor replaces timber guidewalls.

The Corps’ bulletin extends a work precaution first announced in March. The earlier notice had described removing existing guidewalls and installing new ones from March 6 through August 1. The August update keeps the daytime precautions in place into late fall.

Vessels approaching the structure are instructed to contact it on VHF marine channel 14. The purpose of that call is specific: arranging which side of the channel to use while locking through. The bulletin also identifies Leland Bowman Lock as an alternate route.

The notice does not announce a blanket closure of Schooner Bayou. It asks operators to take extra care during passage and coordinate with the structure while the guidewall work is being carried out. Nor does the extension establish that the contractor will finish on November 30; that is the published end of the precaution period.

Bulletin 26-81 remained on the Corps’ active navigation list when checked September 13. The bulletin directs requests for up-to-date operating information to the lockmaster.

For vessels planning to use Schooner Bayou during the daytime work window, the important change is the longer duration of the warning. The August update carries the precautions beyond the original summer schedule and through the end of November.