Funding the Flow: America’s Inland Waterways Need a Smarter Investment Strategy
The path toward funding the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) – and the critical inland infrastructure maintenance and construction of locks and dams that it does – is neither straight nor clear. Jen Armstrong, VP, Government Relations, Waterways Council, visited recently with Maritime Reporter TV to discuss in detail the historical context of how USACE funding has evolved in the past 50 years. A functional and efficient locks and dams system is not simply a matter of catering to inland waterway operators; rather it is a logistics imperative to fuel the U.S.
Infrastructure Project in Focus: Montgomery Lock
Earlier this week Marine News was afforded – thanks to a ‘press tour’ organized by the Waterways Council – a behind the scenes look at the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) effort to build new the Montgomery Locks, one part of a bigger picture project on the Upper Ohio River outside of Pittsburgh to ensure that three key lock and dam critical infrastructure facilities remain viable to facilitate critical tow and barge traffic. The facilities in focus include:Emsworth (placed in service 1922)Dashields (placed in service 1929)…
Inland Waterways System: Driver for the U.S. Economy
“In a global marketplace, supply and demand in one area of the world can greatly impact the agricultural production in another. American products are shipped worldwide …” is how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) describes the backdrop for international trade. The inland and coastwise waterway systems serving the United States (where agricultural cargoes are an important component) are sometimes regarded as insular highly specialized marketplaces. However, they are indeed elements of much larger trading networks that are influenced by global economic…
Lock Repairs Completed, Mosel River Reopens to Shipping
The Mosel river in west Germany has been reopened to cargo shipping after repairs to a damaged lock were completed faster than expected, navigation authorities said.The river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident which damaged a lock at Mueden south of Koblenz.New lock gates have now been installed and the river was reopened to commercial shipping over the weekend, said inland navigation agency WSA.
U.S. House Committee Green-Lights Strong Funding - WCI
The House Committee on Appropriations approved by a vote of 34-24 the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Energy and Water Development (E&W) Appropriations Bill. Included in the bill are Community Project Funding (CPF) requests for Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) construction projects.Overall proposed funding for Corps’ Civil Works is $9.57 billion, an increase of $910 million above FY23’s appropriated level, and $2.16 billion above the President’s FY24 budget request.FY24 funding for construction projects on the inland waterways is $455.97 million…
Inland Waterways in Focus: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements
The integrity of the marine transportation system as a key plank in a country's economic prosperity is in heightened focus today, with logistics snarls contributing to fast rising inflation. Maintaining the integrity of the vast U.S. inland waterway system - with more than 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways including 218 lock chambers at 176 sites - is the focus of the Maritime Risk Symposium 2022, a 2.5-day conference scheduled for November 15-17, hostd by Argonne National Laboraty's TCS Conference Center.On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, James P.
