Waterway Guide | As dredge awaited, river traffic picking back up

As dredge awaited, river traffic picking back up

Date Posted: March 18, 2019

Source: Daily Times-Leader

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WEST POINT, MS - The weather has cooperated, for the most part, and barge traffic is beginning to return to normal on The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway except for through traffic trying to get north or south of Aberdeen.

But the Aberdeen closure still is likely a month or more from being opened, although good weather is improving the outlook.

Crews with Mike Hooks Dredging left the Gulf Shores area Thursday headed north and should arrive in Aberdeen as early as the end of this week to start dredging the closed channel just south of the Aberdeen lock.

Heavy rains and flooding at the end of February created unprecedented shoaling, clogging the river there.

All other areas from Paducah, Ky. to Mobile are now open, although some channels remain narrow. A Corps of Engineers dredging barge is working on several of those along the northern part of the Tenn-Tom where it connects with the Tennessee River.

But it could be worse. Last week, weather forecasters predicted as much as 10 inches of rain at the northern end of the waterway during a 10-day period. Much of that initially was predicted for March 12-15. But the only real rain came Thursday and it was not enough to create new flooding.

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