The Mississippi River has another reason to call itself mighty now that a new Army Corps of Engineers project is underway.
The river will be dredged to maximum depth of 50-feet from its mouth all the way to New Orleans.
The deepening is a victory for the Big River Coalition, which has been lobbying for a decade to deepen the river from 45-to-50 feet.
According to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate a special gathering at the Mardi Gras Museum, hosted by Governor John Bel Edwards brought out the likes of Senator Bill Cassidy, Representative Troy Carter, and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser.
Edwards said the project will assure the main shipping channel of the river is deep enough for a new container terminal down river from the Crescent City Connection to handle the largest new class of container ships.
When finished, the 50-foot depth of the river will stretch all the way to Baton Rouge, allowing deeper hulled vessels to serving the ports of Plaquemines, New Orleans, South Louisiana, and Baton Rouge. A total of 253 miles.
The four ports handle more than 500-million tons of cargo a year, 60% of the nation’s grain and connects to over 14-thousand miles of navigable rivers and tributaries.
