Senator: Rock removal on Mississippi to start soon

Mayors press for more federal focus on Mississippi River

Published: March 21, 2013
Tags: Mississippi River

Mayors from along the Mississippi River said Thursday that they would work with federal lawmakers to sharpen the national focus on the waterway after two years in which shipping has been threatened by flooding and then drought.

Construction of new I-90 bridge gets under way

Published: January 18, 2013
Tags: Highway 61, I-90, Mississippi River, WisDOT

After more than 10 years of planning, construction of the new Interstate 90 bridge that crosses the Mississippi River at Dresbach, Minn., is expected to begin Monday.

Rock blasting puts Mississippi River in ship shape

Published: January 14, 2013
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River

Crews have completed the most critical phase of removing bedrock that threatened barges along a crucial stretch of the drought-starved Mississippi River, staving off the shipping industry’s fears that the treacherous channel could close to traffic, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

Corps praised for averting Mississippi River shutdown

Published: January 10, 2013
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River

Shippers who have idled towboats and lightened barge loads as the Mississippi River shrinks from drought credit the waterway’s stewards for so far averting their worst fear: a potentially crippling shutdown of the artery used to move everything from corn and grain to construction materials and petroleum.

Corps tamps down barge worries on Mississippi River

Published: January 4, 2013
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River

Efforts taken to keep a crucial stretch of the drought-starved Mississippi River open to barge traffic should be sufficient to avert a shipping shutdown that the industry fears is imminent, Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard officials said.

Mississippi River drops, threatens barge traffic

Published: December 27, 2012
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River

The Mississippi River level is dropping again and barge industry trade groups warned Thursday that river commerce could essentially come to a halt as early as next week in an area south of St. Louis.

Army Corps: Mississippi River rock removal moving at steady pace (UPDATE)

Published: December 19, 2012
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River

Crews scooping out Mississippi River bedrock in southern Illinois are making steady progress but have removed a fraction of the rock pinnacles that are impeding navigation along a stretch of the drought-plagued waterway, an Army Corps of Engineers official said Wednesday.

For now, excavating trumps blasting on Mississippi River (UPDATE)

Published: December 18, 2012
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, excavation, Mississippi River

The Army Corps of Engineers is delaying the use of explosives to blast away treacherous rock pinnacles on the Mississippi River in southern Illinois because crews are having so much success removing the rocks with excavating machinery, officials said Tuesday.

Rock blasting set on drought-plagued Mississippi River (UPDATE)

Published: December 17, 2012
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi River

Barge operators along a key stretch of the Mississippi River braced Monday for months of restricted shipping as crews prepared to begin blasting large rock formations that are impeding navigation on the drought-plagued waterway.