Levee damage could create some delays for key crops this harvest season.
The Army Corps of Engineers is still working to repair levees along the Missouri River nearly three years after severe floods. Several teams plan to fix the critical areas first, while others are helping large barges navigate through shallow waters.
Experts are also pushing to get infrastructure back to capacity as farms work through harvest.
“This is really key, particularly right now as the harvest is beginning or has begun in some areas, and there are a lot of folks along the river that can ship goods on the barges, particularly as I talk to industry this year, there’s a lot of demand internationally for a lot of products grown right here in the heartland, and so, that’s the importance of keeping the barge traffic running on the Missouri as it transits out of the heartland, down the Mississippi, and then moves internationally,” said Col. William Hannah, with the Army Corp of Engineers. “It’s very important. A lot of folks in this region do depend on this. We’ve seen a big increase in demand for those types of goods to be transmitted this way.”
State and federal lawmakers are asking the Arm Corps of Engineers for more money for projects that will improve safety and navigation along the lower Missouri.