Canadian Coast Guard ships Griffon and Samuel Risley managed to clear an ice jam along the lower St. Clair River on Tuesday.
The United States Coast Guard cutter Bristol Bay assisted them with flood control efforts and managed to get commercial traffic moving again.
CCG Ice Breaking Operations Officer Mike Brown said shipping resumed after it was brought to a standstill Monday when an ice clog formed at Port Lambton.
He said water levels, between Port Lambton and Russell Island, dropped by over a foot Tuesday and he expected the mild temperatures to break up brash ice and push it further down river Wednesday.
"Ice from the north will certainly continue to flow down and it won't stick together as much, it will flow a lot better with the warmer temperatures, so it definitely helps," said Brown.
He said it has been a unique year for crews.
"By all accounts, this season has been fairly mild, as far as ice formation goes. It's only been in the last week or so where there's been significant ice forming in the north. Georgian Bay and the upper lakes have quite a bit of ice. By and large, the ice that we're experiencing in the region, southern Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, is pretty mild for this time of year."
Brown said they expect the rest of the season to be on par with the yearly average.
Communities in St. Clair County Michigan were impacted by flooding as a result of the ice jam on Monday.
