Barges to Hit More Delays While Dredges Clear Path

The Army Corps of Engineers planned to close the drought-lowered Mississippi River near Memphis today for several days to dredge a deeper and wider path, officials said.

The approximately 1,700 barges that had been stalled near Greenville, Miss., over the weekend because of a similar operation were finally cleared, but the same situation could arise near Memphis, officials said.

“There will undoubtably be a backup delay. We don’t have any idea how much,” Coast Guard Cmdr. Michael Donohoe said at a news conference. “We could have 800 to 1,200 barges arriving in Memphis over the next 24 hours.”

Reaches Record Low

The Mississippi reached record low-water levels last week.

“The river continues to drop, and there’s nothing we can do to control or manage it,” Donohoe said.

The Corps of Engineers was scheduled to arrive at a point about 6 miles north of Memphis and begin dredging this morning, Donohoe said. The channel would have to be closed at that time and towboat traffic, already restricted to daytime hours and fewer barges, would be suspended, he said.

It took 2 1/2 days to finish dredging in Greenville.

Four tows pushing 35 barges were grounded in the Memphis area Monday, and more problems were likely, officials said.

“With river conditions as they are, the possibility of someone going aground is very high,” Donohoe said.

The river was about 20 feet below normal Monday. At some points, water in the channel was only 9 feet deep, threatening boats and barges.

Channel Becomes Narrower

Where the Corps of Engineers planned to dredge, the channel was only 170 feet wide. It is normally 300 to 500 feet wide, officials said.

“Ideally what they would like to do is dredge it to 12, 13, 14 feet (deep). They’ll dredge it a lot wider, at least 300 feet, so they don’t have to come back,” Donohoe said.

Some tows snarled in the Greenville area may be caught again in Memphis, but Donohoe said tow operators were maintaining their patience and cooperation.

“They’re talking together, sharing conversations, working together to keep it going,” said Donohoe.