Deeper Mississippi ‘economically justified’

The Army Corps of Engineers signs off on channel dredging expected to cost more than $157 million.    The Army Corps of Engineers has signed off on a director’s report to dredge the Mississippi River ship channel to 50 feet, citing that the project is “economically justified and environmentally sustainable.”
   The project will provide a draft of 50 feet from the Gulf of Mexico upriver 256 miles to the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. The material dredged within 30 miles of the mouth of the Mississippi River will be used to create an estimated 1,462 acres of new marsh habitat. The Mississippi River ship channel currently is maintained at 45 feet.
   In line with cost-sharing provisions of Section 101 of the Water Resources Development Act, the federal share of the project will be $118.1 million, while the estimated non-federal share will be $39.4 million. Funding must still be appropriated before the Corps’ dredging of the Mississippi River ship channel can begin.
   The Lower Mississippi River comprises the ports of South Louisiana, New Orleans, Greater Baton Rouge and Plaquemines. Combined, these port complexes move more than 500 million tons of cargo, including 60 percent of the nation’s grain.