The Army Corps of Engineers is dredging the Elvis Stahr Harbor at Hickman, Kentucky this week. Low water levels on the Mississippi River have led to a buildup of silt on the harbor. It has been closed for over a month.
Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Jim Pogue says the harbor is a vital transportation link for the region:
"That’s an important harbor, first of all because of the industry that is located there, the grain that flows through that harbor, and the U.S. Coast Guard has a unit that is home ported there. It’s an important harbor, we are authorized to dredge it, we had the funding to do it, so it was the right thing to do.”
Pogue anticipates the Corps will conclude dredging work today. The dredging effort will cost one-and-a-half million dollars. The Corps will then dredge the harbor at Tiptonville, Tennessee.
