Before Settlement

Settlement & Industry

Channelization

Flooding

Human Impact

Current Management

Bibliography

Navigation has been an important aspect of the Mississippi River. People and companies desire to maintain a cheap and reliable mode of transportation on the river.

Barge Traffic (1992)
Grain: 22 million tons (corn, wheat, soybean)
Coal: 3.7 million tons
Fertilizer and farm chemicals: 3.7 million tons
Salt and other chemicals: 1.9 million tons
Petroleum Products: 700,000

Boxcars to Barges
Number of boxcars required to carry the equivalent of one barge load: 15
Number of 25 tom trailers needed to carry one barge load: 17
Gallons of fuel used per 1,000 tons of cargo: Barge 2, Rail 5
(McKnight 29).

Along the river over the years, there has been construction of 19 locks and 2,600 wing dams on the Upper Mississippi. Continuos dredging has occurred, it is necessary to maintain the depth and consistency of the water. However, it costs money. In 1992, the upper region spent $24.8 million (McKnight 29).

History of Transport on the Mississippi River

1850- Golden age of the steamboat brought about the idea of using the river more
extensively for transport

1857- Economic crisis and the Civil War interrupted any plans for improvement

1866- Congress directed the Army Corp of Engineers to begin dredging, snagging, clearing overhang, and removing sunken vessels. The changes were to few and small to make any impact (Anfison 6). General Wilson, pictured here to the right, suggested widening, straightening, and deepening the natural channel. The Board of Engineers suggested enlarging the channel to 200 ft by 4 ft deep and move excavated material to check cross currents and confine water to the new channel. It cost $800, 000. (Tweet 5).

1867-Workers began constructing coffer dams (two parallel walls filled with gravel and clay). It worked well, but many times steamboats on rapids were often careless and collided with dams (Tweet 6).

1872-Opening of the Government Bridge on Arsenal Island.

1878- On June 18, the 4 ½ foot channel project began, which put a continuous navigation channel from St. Paul to St. Louis on the river. They placed wing dams on either or both sides of the channel to reduce width. The dams created a narrowing of the river, which sped it up and help cut through sand and debris (Anfison 6). Moline Lock Project was also started this year. The lock chamber was 325 ft. long/ 80 ft. wide/ 5 ft. deep and made of concrete with wooden gates. 1879- 26 Buoys were put on the rapids to help guide boats along the twisting channel (Tweet 8).

1880- Steamboat time passed and railroads took over.

1888-Engineers had to remove a bar from the channel up near St. Paul waterfront. When it was dredged, they found it was formed by garbage dumped into the river. Minneapolis had dumped 500 tons a day just below the falls (Tweet 126).

1890- Timber products took over Mississippi traffic. (Anfinson 6).

1907- Moline lock open to the Public. The Act of March 2 authorized the 6 ft. channel. It was needed to accommodate the string of barges now on the river. Plus, if the river was going to compete with the railroad, it needed a deeper Channel.(Tweet 9).

1909- Peak use of Moline lock: 1, 140 locks, 18, 998 passengers, and 182 tons of commercial freight (Tweet 9).

1915- The last timber transport occurred on the river. People saw the Mississippi as a one commodity river, and as the river’s commodity disappeared, the river’s transport possibility was seen as a failure (Anfison 7)

1927- In August, Major Charles L. Hall surveyed St. Paul to St. Louis for a 9 ft. channel project.

1929- Hall gave a speech about the concerns of Wildlife Fish and Refuge. They felt that a 9 foot channel would destroy the character of the Upper Mississippi. It would create stagnant water that would alter the wildlife and drive away animals; furthermore, there would be an increase in sewage disposal problems.

1930- July 30 an act was approved for the 9 ft channel despite opposition from Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

1930-1940 Majority of the lock and dam system along the river was proposed and completed including Rock Island’s lock 15. Pictured to the left is the dam at Lock 15.  Along the nine foot channel, there was a total of 26 lock and dams from Minneapolis to Alton, IL. The "Aquatic staircase" dropped the water level 335 feet over 662 miles (Tweet 264).

1940- June 30 the nine-foot channel was completed. Total cost was $69, 609, 224.44 (Tweet 269).
Since the navigation system has been in place on the river, the commodity transport near Rock Island has grown slowly over the years while in the Twin Cities it has remained constant. The channel must constantly be dredged. People are concerned about the increasing costs to maintain and build new locks (McKnight 29). The decisions made over the next few years concerning the economics required to keep this extensive system operating will determine the future of river navigation.

Navigation Effects on the Environment
Increased recreational and commercial traffic on the river has caused increased bank erosion, turbidity, sediment resuspension, and disruption of native species habitats. The increased amount of river dredging, levee building, and construction has complicated the effort to study water quality. It stirs up the toxins that have already settled on the bottom as well as impairs aquatic life. Furthermore, the attempt to control the flow of the river and water level for navigation has caused the river to be confined to specific areas. The river is now "stabilized, fixed in place, and constrained from functioning as the dynamic system that created a wide variety of fish and wildlife habitats" (League 15). The river has been controlled; thus, altering all the natural processes and limiting the way it can shape nature.