Upper Mississippi River News

The 2023 navigation season has drawn to a close on the Upper Mississippi River.A 15-barge tow pushed by the towboat Thomas Erickson, the last of the season, departed Lock and Dam 10, near Guttenberg, Iowa, December 3, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District said.The 2023 season commence March 12, when the towboat Phillip M Pfeffer broke its way through the ice of Lake Pepin to travel to St. Paul, Minnesota.With the 2023 navigation season in the rearview, St. Paul District staff will remain busy this coming winter with maintenance projects at Lock and Dam 2…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, began dredging the Mississippi River navigation channel near Brownsville, Minn., in Pool 8 this week to ensure the channel remains open for commercial navigation.Dredging is expected to continue in this area through Labor Day.The Above Brownsville Placement Site, known locally as Crater Island, will be closed during this time when needed for dredging operations.The St. Paul District maintains a 9-foot navigation channel and 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa on the Upper Mississippi River.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Wednesday announced $20.8 million in grant awards to 27 small shipyards in 20 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program. The funds will help shipyards modernize, increase productivity, and expand local job opportunities while competing in the global marketplace.“Small shipyards strengthen America’s commercial fleet, bolster our economic security, and generate good jobs,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We are proud to support these shipyards reinforce their vital role in the U.S.

Extreme weather events—including both high and low water levels—can wreak havoc on inland waterways transport. In late 2022, severe drought conditions brought the latter to the Mississippi River Basin, underlining the importance of America’s dredging fleet.When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Memphis District's dredge Hurley returned to its home port, Ensley Engineer Yard, in Memphis Harbor, on January 13, 2023, it wrapped its longest, most productive season on record.

I. MoneyNo one ever said it’s easy to understand federal budgets and spending plans. Nevertheless, a general sense of clarity and straightforwardness is critical for any review of public expenditures. This becomes more pressing when tracking revenue and expenditures linked to specific users’ fees, such as the $0.29/gallon fuel tax, paid by inland waterways operators. In 2021, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) held $221.5 million, money earmarked to build, maintain and operate…

At its meeting held November 6 in Paducah, Ky., the National Waterways Foundation (NWF) has re-elected the following Trustees:Cherrie Felder, Channel Shipyard CompaniesPeter H. Stephaich, Campbell Transportation CompanyH. Merritt Lane, Canal Barge CompanyClark Todd, Blessey MarineKristin Beck, LaFargeHolcimStephen SheridanThe NWF also elected the following new Trustees:Jennifer Carpenter, CEO, American Waterways OperatorsAndrew Brown, Vice President - Legal & Claims, Ingram Barge CompanyJason Nyberg…

The list of projects on the United States’ inland waterways infrastructure to-do list is seemingly never-ending as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) continuously works to maintain, repair and, when possible, upgrade aging locks and dams throughout America’s vast network of navigable rivers.But there’s been progress toward modernizing the system, especially in recent years amid steadily rising annual appropriations that fund the Corps’ Civil Works mission, and Construction…

The National Transportation Board said Thursday that a Mississippi River towing vessel’s pilot and its captain pushed its tow up against a riverbank too close to a railroad track, leading to a collision and train derailment near Galland, Iowa.Marine Investigation Report 22/22 details the NTSB’s investigation into the Nov. 13, 2021, collision between the towing vessel Baxter Southern and a BNSF coal train transiting the track along the shoreline of the Upper Mississippi River. The train struck a barge that was overhanging the railroad track.

The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…

The engine room fire aboard a towing vessel was caused by overpressurization of the fuel day tank and a main engine fuel return system when a fatigued chief engineer inadvertently left the day tank overflow valves to the storage tanks closed, the National Transportation Safety Board said in Marine Investigation Report 22/17 released Wednesday.On May 18, 2021, the towing vessel Mary Lynn was pushing two barges near mile 176 on the Upper Mississippi River near St. Louis, Missouri when a fire broke out in the engine room. A Good Samaritan towing vessel and a St.

Viking announced its new 386-passenger river cruise ship Viking Mississippi has been floated out at Edison Chouest Offshore's LaShip shipyard in Houma, La.Set to debut in June 2022, the Viking Mississippi will sail voyages on the Lower and Upper Mississippi River, between New Orleans and St. Paul.Viking Mississippi is equipped with a variety of measures to maximize energy efficiency and emissions—including a diesel-electric propulsion system comprised of eight CAT C32 EPA Tier 4 diesel engines…

Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) show a 25% rise from June 2020. Data in a presentation by The Waterways Council Inc (WCI)…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will use $732 million in federal infrastructure funding to modernize a lock and dam on the Upper Mississippi River that are crucial for shipping grain and soybeans to export markets, officials said on Wednesday.Upgrading infrastructure is essential for the United States to maintain its place as a top global agriculture exporter, as competitors including Brazil have made improvements.The Army Corps will design and construct a lock replacement at Lock and Dam 25 on the river in Winfield, Missouri, about 50 miles north of St. Louis, according to a work plan.

The U.S. Army on Wednesday announced  the Civil Works studies, projects and programs that the Corps would implement in Fiscal Year 2022 with the $22.81 billion in supplemental funding provided in two recently enacted laws — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; and the 2022 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.The spend plan supports the Administration hitting the ground running by focusing on current Fiscal Year 2022 spending. Future announcements will provide spend plans for subsequent years.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is preparing for major repairs at six of its Mississippi River locks this winter to ensure they continue working as designed.Maintenance is scheduled at Lock and Dam 4, Alma, Wisconsin; Lock and Dam 5A, near Fountain City, Wisconsin; Lock and Dam 6, Trempealeau, Wisconsin; Lock and Dam 7, near La Crescent, Minnesota; Lock and Dam 8, near Genoa, Wisconsin; and Lock and Dam 10, Guttenberg, Iowa.The locks will be closed from Nov.

At its Board of Trustees meeting held November 2 in St. Louis, the National Waterways Foundation (NWF) elected Matt Woodruff, Vice President of Public & Government Affairs, Kirby Corporation, as Chairman for a term expiring in 2023. He succeeds consultant Rick Calhoun as Chairman (2020-2021).The NWF, which develops the intellectual and factual arguments for an efficient, well-funded and secure inland waterways system, also elected the following Officers to serve one-year terms expiring in 2022President: *Tracy Zea…

American Cruise Lines' new river cruise ship American Melody is ready to kick off its inaugural season on Friday along the line’s longest Mississippi River cruise.The 22-day complete Mississippi River cruise had originally been scheduled to operate from New Orleans, La., to St. Paul, Minn., but due to Hurricane Ida, guests will embark in Natchez, Miss.Through the end of December 2021, American Melody will also operate eight-day Upper Mississippi River cruises between St. Louis, Mo., and St.

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new station, Coast Guard Station Paducah, during a ceremony held Thursday at the Carson Center in Paducah, Ky.Presiding over the ceremony was Capt. Amy Beach, commander of Sector Ohio River Valley. Station Paducah’s officer in charge is Chief Petty Officer Michael Sheahan.The station is responsible for search and rescue, recreational boating safety, ports, waterways, flood response, and coastal security. The station's area of responsibility ranges from mile marker 867 to mile marker 981 on the Ohio River…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Rock Island District held a christening ceremony in Quincy, Ill., on Friday for the latest towing vessel to joins its fleet.The vessel, which has been renamed Quincy, was built in 2008 by Texas shipyard Orange Shipbuilding for $5 million and is being relocated from the Corps' Louisville District.Originally named the Gordon M. Stevens, the vessel was designed and contracted by the USACE's Marine Design Center and served as part of the construction…

As we head toward the end of a very chaotic and COVID-filled 2020 and try to reflect on the positives, the inland waterways had a pretty good year overall. Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), whose members depend on a modern, efficient inland waterways system, offers this look back, with hopes ahead for the passage of a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2020 with our construction cost-share adjustment priority in the lame duck session of Congress.A disappointing FY21 budget requestIn February…

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is the national public policy organization that advocates for a modern, efficient inland waterways system. Abiding by our mission has meant success over our 17-year history. In 2020, WCI’s top priority is to conform the cost-share for Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF)-financed construction projects to require 25% of the project cost be derived from the IWTF and the remaining 75% from General Revenues. The policy vehicle for this adjustment is the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)…

Jennifer A. Carpenter serves as President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry. Carpenter joined AWO in August 1990 and became President & CEO in January 2020. Before assuming her current position, she worked her way up the hawsepipe from Government Affairs Assistant to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, holding a series of progressively responsible positions including Manager-Regulatory Issues…