The Army Corps of Engineers will remove rock outcrops near Thebes, Illinois next week. That’s according to a press release from two river navigation trade associations.
The rock outcrops present the most immediate danger to barges as river levels continue to drop. Barge industry companies fear water levels will threaten shipping this winter.
Ann McColloch is the American Waterways Operators’ public affairs director. She says this is a step in the right direction, but adds it’s only half the solution.
“If that rock pinnacle work takes place without a modest amount of Missouri River water flowing into the Mississippi River, we still feel the water levels on the Mississippi are going to drop significantly over the next few weeks to the point where the river will become effectively close to waterborne commerce,” McColloch said.
McColloch thinks the rock blasting project is welcome news, but says the work will take an extended period of time.
“It’s not a matter of days, but likely a matter of weeks,” McColloch said. “Every day that there are not those flows coming in from the Missouri River, every day that those flows are reduced, the Mississippi River water levels will continue to drop.”
An Army Corps spokesperson says it is still too early to announce dates or a timeline for the rock removal. The Corps expedited the contracting process, which was originally projected to begin in late January. The Corps spokesperson says the Corps hopes to have contractors working on the rock outcrops in the near future.
