Crew from the tug Theresa L. Wood tie off barges to a recently installed mule and tow rail to pull the barges out of the lock chamber May 17 at Lock and Dam #8 in Genoa, Wis. The vessel was moving barges from St. Louis to Winona, Minn. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Around 175 million tons of freight travels on the Mississippi River each year, and from the river’s headwaters to southern Illinois, a series of locks and dams guide barges through the journey.
Traffic is only increasing, but the locks and dams have aged far past their life expectancy. Even functioning properly, they slow barges down, and shippers and commodity groups fear a worse infrastructure breakdown is on the horizon.
“Is it a matter of if you have a failure … or when you have a failure?” said Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.
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Steenhoek likened the system to a fire hydrant hooked up to a garden hose. Since the locks and dams were built almost a century ago, farmers are producing significantly more corn and soybeans for export.
Those commodities are loaded up on barges and pushed by towboats, which must enter each lock as they make their way along the river. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. But when those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long.
The tug Theresa L. Wood heads upstream after locking through Lock and Dam #8 May 17 in Genoa, Wis. The vessel was moving barges from St. Louis to Winona, Minn. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Those delays keep growing. A 2019 Agribusiness Consulting report found that in 2017, more than half of boats and barges on the river were delayed at locks and dams, up from about one in five in 2000. Delay time increased from 90 minutes to about 122 minutes, some of the longest delays in the country.
Steenhoek said farmers ultimately foot the bill. If shipping companies face slowdowns on the river that cost them more in fuel, they’ll lower the price they’re willing to pay farmers for the product.
Almost everyone involved can agree that something needs to be done about the locks and dams, which have an estimated billion-dollar backlog of maintenance costs.
Yet with so many varied interests, the question of who should pay — and what exactly to pay for — isn’t as easy to answer.
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“We’re doing repairs … to keep it operational,” said Kristin Moe, navigation business line manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Paul District. “But at some point, we’re going to need some major rehabilitation of these structures.”
Locks and dams far past expected life span
As the Midwest’s agricultural and manufacturing economies developed in the 20th century, it became increasingly hard to move goods on the upper river, which at times was so shallow that people could walk across it. As early as the 1830s, there was interest in controlling the river’s whims to give commercial traffic easier passage.
In 1930, Congress approved a project that would ultimately create the current system of 29 locks and dams that stretches from Minneapolis to Granite City, Illinois. The upper river is divided into sections called pools, where a fixed amount of river is held back by a dam. The Army Corps controls how much water is in a pool at a given time, which must be at least nine feet deep to allow barges to move through.
Gearing installed in the mid-1930s that controls a roller gate is shown May 17 at Lock and Dam #8 in Genoa, Wis. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Between the headwaters in northern Minnesota and Granite City, the river falls about 420 feet in elevation. Each lock acts like an elevator, bringing boats up or down to the water level of the next pool.
The lower river does not have locks and dams. As major rivers like the Missouri and the Ohio join up with the Mississippi, the channel becomes deep and wide enough to naturally accommodate shipping.
At the time that the locks and dams were constructed — mostly between 1930 and 1940 — engineers estimated their life span to be about 50 years. Today, they’re pushing 100 years old.
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If the upper Mississippi River had to shut down for one season because of lock and dam failures, the amount of agricultural goods displaced would equal between 367,000 and 489,000 loads by truck, according to a 2018 study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Turning to other modes like trucks and rail could be costly.
And as the infrastructure ages, there’s also another piece of uncertainty to contend with: the changing climate, which brings with it more weather extremes. Last fall, intense drought halted barge traffic on the lower Mississippi River, and this spring, widespread flooding on the upper river did the same thing.
“Having this pendulum swing … it’s very jarring to anyone who uses the system,” Steenhoek said.
Those changes make it even more important to do preventative maintenance of the locks and dams, he said.
Groups disagree on what projects to fund
Taxpayers have been funding inland waterway navigation for nearly two centuries, but Congress established the Inland Waterways Trust Fund in 1978, which required the private shipping industry to pitch in.
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Today, the trust fund’s coffers are filled by a 29-cent per gallon diesel tax on commercial operators that use the Mississippi River and other inland waterways. New construction is paid for through a public-private partnership: the private dollars in the fund, which cover 35 percent, and federal dollars, which contribute 65 percent.
The tug Theresa L. Wood heads upstream after locking through Lock and Dam #8 May 17 in Genoa, Wis. The vessel was moving barges from St. Louis to Winona, Minn. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
But once the projects are completed, it’s taxpayers who pick up the tab for maintenance and repairs through federal funds. Thus the debate becomes not only who pays, but what projects should be paid for.
“We don’t need new waterways infrastructure,” said Olivia Dorothy of American Rivers. “We don’t need new dams. We don’t need new locks. We don’t need new stuff. We need to maintain the stuff that we have.”
American Rivers has long advocated for private industry to pay for maintenance, given that it’s directly benefiting.
The Inland Waterways Trust Fund is the most successful effort in Dorothy’s eyes, but it doesn’t require the industry to pay for maintenance, which is the biggest expense. That includes a long list of backlogged projects, like repairing concrete walls and replacing gates. American Rivers argues that the companies using the waterway the most should pay the most to maintain it, similar to the highway funding model, which leverages fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees and other fees.
Those who represent shippers — like the Waterways Council, a public policy group that advocates for an efficient inland waterways system — disagree. Deb Calhoun, the group’s senior vice president, said the system should be modernized so that every lock has a 1,200-foot chamber, which would allow today’s larger tows to move up and downriver faster.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees Aaron Brown and Troy Frank stand near one of the roller gates used to regulate the flow of water May 17 at Lock and Dam #8 in Genoa, Wis. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Federal infrastructure law funding will pay for at least one of those larger chambers, at Lock 25 in Winfield, Missouri. It’s the first lock chamber project to be funded from an Army Corps effort to address navigation concerns along with environmental ones.
Because the amount of goods traveling on the river is expected to increase, money shouldn’t be spent on rehabbing existing structures, but instead on building new ones, Calhoun said.
The Waterways Council is opposed to additional toll or lockage fees for shippers that use the river. Calhoun said it’s not just shippers who benefit from an efficient river.
“The Mississippi River is a natural gift to the U.S., and it has beneficiaries like recreational boating and fishing, waterfront property development, and water for manufacturing processes,” she said. “None of those beneficiaries pay for the dedicated fuel tax.”
Proposed funding model would have shippers pay up front
Amid disagreements over funding, one proposal by an Iowa State University professor puts a spin on the public-private partnership model, asking shippers to foot some of the bill up front for lock and dam repairs in return for easier passage on the river.
Yoshinori Suzuki, the school’s Land O’Lakes Endowed Professor of supply chain management, argues that the upfront payment would skirt the prohibition of river tolls in a study published in January in Transportation Journal.
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Crew from the tug Theresa L. Wood reconnect barges after locking through May 17 at Lock and Dam #8 in Genoa, Wis. The vessel was moving barges from St. Louis to Winona, Minn. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Suzuki ran simulations of upper Mississippi River traffic flows through a mathematical model to figure out how much shippers would have to pay to get the highest return on their investment. If they covered between 60 and 80 percent of the cost, he found, they could maximize their investment and be paid back in eight years or less.
Suzuki said his model is already of interest to shippers. The study was paid for by Iowa State’s Supply Chain Forum, which includes corporate partners like Land O’Lakes, Cargill and Kent Corporation. Suzuki said companies are “deeply concerned” with the aging system, and that they were interested in the idea even before he presented the results.
“Most, if not all, are very willing to provide funding to this kind of project as long as the investment comes back in positive return,” he said.
Land O’Lakes and Kent Corporation did not respond to a request for comment about the study findings. A spokesperson for Cargill said the company had not yet been presented with the research.
Suzuki acknowledged that there’s a lot left to figure out before his proposal could be put into action, like who would ultimately approve such a funding model and which entity would be in charge of spending the money.
The model also relies on all shippers who use the river pitching in, which could take significant convincing. Calhoun, with the Waterways Council, said she felt doubtful it would come to pass.
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A plaque with construction details is shown May 17 at Lock and Dam #8 in Genoa, Wis. The locks allow the boats to gradually adjust to changing river levels. Most towboats can push 15 barges at a time on the river. When those barges reach a 600-foot long lock, they don’t fit. Instead, they have to be split up, which takes more than twice as long. It was constructed and was put into operation by April 1937. (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Moe said the Corps is open to partnerships that could help them explore more innovative ways to fund repairs, including a public-private one.
And in the meantime, they’ll keep chipping away.
“It’s just a matter of, can the funds keep up with this growing maintenance backlog?” she said. “This aging infrastructure is getting older every day.”
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and the Society of Environmental Journalists, funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
Mississippi’s 2024 alligator hunting season got off to a whopping start when a team of six hunters reeled in one of the largest monsters ever caught in the state.
The 14-foot-long, 802-pound alligator was caught in the Yazoo River, which stretches over 2,000 miles through Mississippi and Louisiana.
The group stood proudly with their catch for photographs, and all six were needed to hold up the lifeless creature.
The yearly hunt kicked off last month and is set to run until September 9, allowing participants to take home their prize for ‘wallets, belts and eating,’ according to state rules.
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The group reeled in the alligator last week in the dead of night. Officials determine the creature measured 14 feet long and weighed over 800 pounds
There are more than 3,700 people participating in the 2024 hunt, with an average of five to six people on each team.
The rules state that permit holders may harvest up to two alligators over four feet long, but only one can be longer than seven feet.
The largest a alligator ever recorded was 19 feet, two inches long and weighed more than 2,300 pounds when it was caught in in Louisiana in 1890.
However, the most recent monster was captured in Arkansas by Mike Cottingham in 2021.
Cottingham claimed the beast was 13 feet, three inches long and weighed 1,380 pounds.
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The largest in Mississippi, killed in 2023, was about three inches longer than the one captured this year.
The team, which included Megan Sasser, braved torrential rains to capture the 60-year-old beast.
In a social media post, Sasser said she and her team are ‘still over the moon’ after reeling in the reptile last Friday.
‘We sat through a monsoon for over 3 hours… crunched 2 poles, survived the death roll a few times, displaced everything in the boat, and still managed to bring this monster home,’ she continued.
Brandi Robinson, also part of the winning team, explained that the giant alligator was spotted 250 yards away from the boat.
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Mississippi holds the hunt each year, allowing participants to capture no more than two alligators
Brandi Robinson (pictured), also part of the winning team, explained that the giant alligator was spotted 250 yards away from the boat
‘Everyone’s binoculars were immediately glued! It was a big one and we all knew that,’ she said, as reported by The State.
The boat slowly made its way toward the giant creature and the team waited for about 45 minutes for it to come back to the surface before wrestling with for about an hour.
It is not clear what tools were used to capture the alligator, but hunters can use everything from snatch hooks to harpoons and even firearms.
The six-person team loaded their catch into the boat and brought it to a local meat processing company, Red Antler.
After taking pictures with the prized gator, the team took it to a local meat processing facility
‘In the last five years, we here at Red Antler have processed probably about 3,000 alligators, and we have only got two that were over the 14-foot in length measurement,’ Shane Smith, owner of Red Antler Processing, told McClatchy News.
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The team took most of the meat home and donated the rest to Hunter Harvest, a nonprofit organization that gives hunted and harvested meat to families in need.
Sasser also shared a picture of her and the alligator on Facebook where friends called it a ‘monster.’
However, not everyone was thrilled to see the giant catch.
One Facebook user commented: ‘That gator had to be at least 50 years old to have gotten that big. Such a shame. He’s a beautiful animal.’
RANKIN Co., Miss. (WLBT) – The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department reports that they have been called to the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility for an alleged overdose.
The Rankin County Coronor, David Ruth, confirmed to WLBT staff that he was called to the scene to recover a body. He said he was unable to comment on the cause or manner of death until he performs an autopsy.
The Department of Health also says they have been called by the facility for a hazmat situation.
More law enforcement vehicles were seen by WLBT crews entering the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility as authorities continue to investigate a death at the prison.
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Details are currently limited. WLBT has reached out to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a statement on the situation but have yet to hear back.
WLBT 3 on your side will update with information as it is made available.
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