According to today's USDA Grain Transportation Report, on August 8, the city council of Quincy, IL, accepted a bid of $4.43 million from County Contractors, Inc., to elevate and repair the city’s barge dock wall and grade the adjacent land.
By raising the seawall and the dock platform about 3.5 feet, the project will allow the dock to operate whenever its segment of the Mississippi River—Lock and Dam Pool 21—is open for operation. In 2016-20, 10.9-18.1 million tons of grain shipments originated from or moved through this portion of the Mississippi River system.
Despite being the river’s northernmost barge dock, Quincy’s dock typically stays open all winter and has the capacity to load or unload two barges at a time. However, in 5 of the past 10 years, flooding during the non-winter months has forced the dock to close, requiring customers to seek alternative transportation.
Dock improvements will allow the terminal to remain open until river levels reach approximately 23 feet, whereas today the dock can remain open only when the river is below 22 feet.