ST. LOUIS (AP) – A key stretch of the Mississippi River reopened to shipping Wednesday after hasty repairs were made to a lock damaged by a barge, marking the latest victory for stewards of the drought-plagued waterway they have maneuvered to keep open.

That crisis resolved, the Army Corps of Engineers is turning its attention back to the river’ creep toward record low levels because of the nation’s worst drought in decades. It remains confident the channel will be kept to at least the minimum depth required by barges.

This week’s closure of Lock and Dam 27 near Granite City, Ill., unrelated to the drought, was forced after barge damaged a gate on an auxiliary lock before dawn Tuesday, causing a traffic snarl that swelled before the lock reopened 17 hours later.