At least they'll get plenty of chances to practice

Here's the latest on that Rube Goldberg style "barge gate" on the intracoastal waterway that was designed to just sit closed for 10-15 years at a time but then we later found out would have to be open and closed with alarming regularity. 

The misjudged current tolerances have led the corps to declare that the structure should be closed 96-hours – four days – before a storm is expected to make landfall in the area.

“Basically, we’ll be closing this thing any time a tropical disturbance or even a low-pressure system is in the Gulf,” Turner said. “We’re not leaving anything to chance because the risk to the community we’re protecting is simply too great.

“We’re going to keep working with the corps to get this all squared away before hurricane season” — which begins June 1.