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More lock closures on the Mississippi River

Rising flood waters on the mid- and upper-Mississippi River forced the US Army Corps of Engineers to close parts the river this week.

Ron Fournier, public affairs officer for the Army Corps’ Rock Island district says they’ve already shut down three locks due to the high water and more are expected.  “We are anticipating closing another ten of them, maybe eleven,” he says.  “But right now we have an expected closure of 10 total sometime before July 5th.”

Fournier, tells Brownfield shutting down the locks and dams in the Rock Island district will affect grain movement.  “There is absolutely no movement on the river going north or south because these locks are basically central to the upper Mississippi,” he says.  “When you close the middle locks down, locks 16-18, you’re stopping any kind of commodity movement on the river.”

The Rock Island District is home to Locks 11 through 22 and is the busiest stretch of the Mississippi River, the main shipping route to the US Gulf Coast.

He says it is unknown how long the locks and dams on the Mississippi will be shut down.

AUDIO: Ron Fournier, Army Corps (2:00mp3)

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