The Nation - News from July 4, 1988

The drought-lowered Mississippi River was closed for dredging near Greenville, Miss., backing up 13 barge tows, the Coast Guard reported. Petty Officer Dean Jones said traffic on the river was halted near the borders of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. The dredging was expected to be finished sometime today. There were no grounded barges in the lower Mississippi, and the river at Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday was up about one-tenth of a foot from the day before. Measured at a low-water mark established in 1872, the river at Memphis was minus 10 feet, about 24 feet below normal for this time of year.