The Divide that Unifies: Mississippi River

Driving straight west from Chicago on 88 Interstate is the Mighty Mississippi River.  Often thought as the dividing line between the East and the West, the chasm-to-cross adventure in early America or even today, it is more than that.  The Mississippi River, as observed at the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers River Rock Island District, is a feast of engineering and nature lever at the core of U. S. life. 

Crops benefit from the river richness while farming operations benefit from navigational proximity. The rest of the country benefits from grains as well as mined bulk products and many other basic construction elements transported and distributed from the navigable, approximately 2,320 mile river. As part of the integrated commerce distribution system, like bread and water are essentials to the human body, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers water passageways and surrounding farming are essential for the U. S. health and economy,  

By law in the 1930s, the Mississippi River dams and lock structure was built to prevent risks and enhance navigation flows at an even nine feet depth.  Prior to this, the uneven water flows, risky below-surface debris and waterfalls threatened navigation.  The Lock and Dam #15, at the Rock Island District, is one of the largest, if not the largest, roller dam in the world at 1,203 feet with six non-overflow rollers and two non-submersible roller gates.  The dam does not hold water; it would flood everything around as the ‘Mighty’ is untamable. Rather, the Lock and Dam structure is built to manage water levels along a side channel that smooths passage through previously treacherous areas. With the rollers’ help and through a series of channel locks, cement tunnels and driven by a Tow Boat, massive barges (water-proof containers) float fluidly through this river stretch.  

The facility is highly efficient.  One barge carries 1,760 tons of corn; in comparison, one semitrailer holds 25 tons and one rail car 110 tons.  In terms of equivalent units, one 15-barge tow — the regular amount of barges on tow — equates to 1050 semitrailers and 240 unit train cars.  Space utilization is maximum.

Energy consumption is relatively low.  Optimized water physics and river topography let nature be the water elevator that pushes and pulls the cargo forward —with limited use of pulling robes  and self-generated electricity. 

The Mississippi Rock Island District facility is a high-iron, high-muscle operation in a sophisticated logistics and high-tech environment.  Tow Boat captains count on a variety of sonars, radars, sensors, and computing power to help navigate the river.  The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers manages, plans and oversees the facility as well as the integrity of the system as dictated by law.  

Supporting the natural ecosystem, surrounding facilities co-managed with the Department of Natural Resources for Wildlife are beautiful and offer a sanctuary for animals and humans alike.  One of the ‘top secrets’ is the Eagle Watch Tours that has sprung from America’s Bold Eagle finding affinity with the rich fish-in-waiting wintery environment by the dam.  

Protecting area natural resources is starting to get traction.  The first assessment study conducted ranked the Mississippi River Basin ecological health “D” highlighting the need for more to be done.

What moves the Mississippi River?  What moves the U. S. core commerce foundation?  The efficient development, use and transportation of goods and source materials from the Mississippi ten bordering states throughout the rest of the country is at its center. The amazing work by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Mississippi River is at the core of what moves the U. S. economy. What would it take to maintain and strengthen?

Learned from heritage Indians-mindset who farmed along the rivers, engineered by pioneer modern mindset, and hopefully fueled by new investment, the Mississippi River will remain a strong core for America’s future, an example of commerce and nature working in unison. 

Managing existing infrastructure and building physical foundations for the future starts by understanding resource availability, transferability and transformability.  Strong, integrated and efficient transportation systems such as the Mississippi waterways, are critical to this process.