DisastersBarge traffic resumes on Mississippi River
On a typical day, some 600 barges move back and forth along the Mississippi, with a single vessel carrying as much cargo as 70 tractor-trailers or 17 rail cars; the barges haul coal, timber, iron, steel, and more than half of America’s grain exports; interruptions of barge traffic could thus cost the U.S. economy hundreds of millions of dollars for each day the barges are idled; early Tuesday the Coast Guard halted barge and cargo haulers traffic along a 15-mile stretch of the river near Natchez, Mississippi; the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers were worried that the heavy wake churned by barges and cargo haulers increase the pressure on levees which are already straining to hold back the rising river; on Tuesday night the Coast Guard re-opened the blocked section, and barges were allowed to go through but only one at a time, and at a very low speed
Moving goods inland on the Mississippi // Source: airphotona.com
The U.S. Coast Guard has re-opened sections of the Mississippi River for shipping, after closing them early Tuesday to relieve pressure on already-strained flood defenses. Early Tuesday authorities stopped barge traffic at the port of Natchez, Mississippi. The river near Nztchez is already three feet above the record set back in 1937.
The river is expected to crest sometime between Thursday and Saturday, but it would take weeks, even months, for water to recede to normal levels.
The BBC reports that there were fears that if the closure would extend for more than a couple of days, the economic damage caused by the swollen river would grow exponentially.
On a typical day, some 600 barges move back and forth along the Mississippi, with a single vessel carrying as much cargo as 70 tractor-trailers or 17 rail cars, Bob Anderson, spokesman for the Mississippi Valley Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, told Fox News.
The barges haul coal, timber, iron, steel, and more than half of America’s grain exports. Interruptions of barge traffic could thus cost the U.S. economy hundreds of millions of dollars for each day the barges are idled.
Also Tuesday, at least ten freight terminals along the lower Mississippi between Baton Rouge and New Orleans suspended operations because of high water. Fox News reports that vessels scheduled to use the terminals will either have to wait out the high water or divert elsewhere. Delaying a vessel by even a single day often costs $20,000 to $40,000, port officials said.
The closure of a 15-mile stretch at Natchez was one of the desperate measures taken to prevent a catastrophic flooding of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Om Tuesday evening, the stretch of river was open again for shipping, but ships and barges were allowed to go through the re-opened section one at a time, and at a very low speed. The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers are worried that the heavy wake churned by barges and cargo haulers increase the pressure on levees which are already straining to hold back the rising river.
Over the weekend, the Corps opened the Morganza Spillway, preferring to flood rural areas than run the risk of urban flooding further south. The decision forced more than 5,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
