Ongoing High Waters Still Disrupting Barge Traffic

This article has been reprinted from USDA's June 25 Grain Transportation Report.

Ongoing highwater conditions continue to disrupt barge movements throughout the inland waterways.

Conditions on the Upper Mississippi River from Burlington, IA, to St. Louis, MO, have improved to allow southbound traffic of 15-barge tows.

However, due to poorer navigation conditions above Burlington, southbound traffic is limited to 9 to 12 barges per tow.

There are tow size restrictions on the lower Mississippi River, along with daylight only passage under bridges at Vicksburg, MS, and Baton Rouge, LA.

Lock repairs and highwater have slowed traffic on the Upper Illinois River.

The Ohio River is experiencing highwater, while the Arkansas River is still impacted by historic flooding.

Overall conditions are improving as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that regional forecasts show that on or about August 1, most Mississippi River gauges will be out of flood stage.