Review of Mississippi-Illinois Waterway Study

The National Academies released its Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Restructured Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Water Feasibility Study. The review concludes that the Corps has made good progress in broadening a study of possible navigation improvements on the waterway system to give greater consideration to ecological restoration. However, flaws in the new models used in the study to predict demand for barge transportation undermine the economic justification for expanding locks on the rivers.