RESTON, Va. –The American Society of Civil Engineers graded the national inland navigation system D-plus in its annual report card on U.S. infrastructures. Shipping delays cost up to $739 per hour on average, the report said. Much of the system was built in the 1930s, including Upper Mississippi locks, dams and channels from St. Louis to Minneapolis. The society’s recommendations for moving its grade to a C or a B or even an A included a message to Congress: Give authority to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to manage construction and repair projects from start to finish and ensure, rather than piecemeal funding that results in costly stop-and-start of construction. The Society also recommended more money for operations and maintenance and strategic prioritizing of projects.

Army Corps projects

Inefficiencies in the Upper Mississippi navigation include locks that cannot accommodate a full complement of 17 barges and a towboat. The result: Barge arrays need to be broke apart and docked through in sections and then lashed together again. To address the congestion issue, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the system, has sought funds for more than 20 years to extend docks at the system’s busiest southern dams from 600 to 1,200 feet, Another inefficiency: Locks are single lane. Side-by-side locks, like the Panama canal, which opened in 1914, would double capacity. With noting: The Panama locks are 1,000 feet long.

Unlashing and relashing. It’s a tight fit for three-abreast barges. And lengthwise, like the Procrustean bed in Greek mythology, it doesn’t work at all.  A full array or 15 barges won’t fit in 600-foot locks. Barges must be divided into two arrays and each locked through separately, then reattached.