Mississippi River open: Dredging clears towboat backlog after grounding
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.

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