Tagged: Mississippi River

Kentucky U. S. Congressman Ed Whitfield has joined those calling on the Army Corps of Engineers to increase water flow on the Mississippi River. The Corps has reduced flow from the Missouri River into the Mississippi to preserve water reservoirs.

Commercial trucks are not being allowed on a ferry that is the only route between Kentucky and Missouri. The detour is about 80 miles for trucks traveling between the two states. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says the Dorena-Hickman Ferry restriction is because of the low water level of the Mississippi River.

Lawmakers from several Mississippi River states are meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers today to address the waterway's critically low levels between St. Louis and Cairo .

River navigation leaders want the Obama administration to take emergency action to avoid a river commerce shutdown. The Army Corps of Engineers is reducing flows on the Missouri River. That will drop Mississippi River levels by as much as four feet by Dec. 10.

The Waterways Council CEO Mike Toohey says the basic inputs of everyday life will not arrive at their destination if commerce is interrupted between St. Louis and Cairo, Illinois.

The Army Corps of Engineers has begun reducing the flow from a Missouri River reservoir, a move expected to worsen low water conditions on the Mississippi River and potentially halt barge traffic at St. Louis within weeks.