ADVERTISEMENT

Mississippi River open: Dredging clears towboat backlog after grounding

By MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE   Saturday, August 4, 2012 - 11:59 a.m.
ADVERTISEMENT

BROWNSVILLE, MINN. (MCT)--Commercial barge traffic on the Upper Mississippi River returned to normal Friday after a dredging crew cleared the channel of sand that accumulated after a barge went aground near Brownsville, Minn., on Tuesday.

The blockage was cleared Thursday evening, and four towboats and their loads that had been backed up had passed through Lock 8 at Genoa, Wis., by noon Friday, according to a lock operator there. Other tows locked through during the afternoon.

A private dredging company was continuing work Friday and today to return conditions to normal, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman said.

The David L. Fields towboat caused the backlog when one of the 15 barges it was pushing went aground at about 1 p.m. Tuesday about 20 miles south of La Crosse.




reader COMMENTS
No reader comments yet posted
(0)

Before you post a comment, consider this:

Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy Agreement
  • Keep it clean. Comments that are obscene, vulgar or sexually oriented will be removed. Creative spelling of such terms or implied use of such language is banned, also.
  • Don't threaten to hurt or kill anyone.
  • Be nice. No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person.
  • Harassing comments. If you are the subject of a harassing comment or personal attack by another user, do not respond in-kind.  Hit the "Suggest Removal" button on offensive comments.
  • Share what you know. Give us your eyewitness accounts, background, observations and history.
  • Do not libel anyone. Libel is writing something false about someone that damages that person's reputation.
  • Ask questions. What more do you want to know about the story?
  • Stay focused. Keep on the story's topic.
  • Help us get it right. If you spot a factual error or misspelling, email newsroom@gazettextra.com or call 1-800-362-6712.
  • Remember, this is our site. We set the rules, and we reserve the right to remove any comments that we deem inappropriate.

Post Comment

Commenting requires registration.

Username:
Password: (Forgotten your password?)

Comment:

ADVERTISEMENT