NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is once again weighing the costs and benefits of a potential $300 million effort to deepen the lower Mississippi River by as much as 5 feet.
The New Orleans Advocate’s Richard Thompson reports the project — which would cover the stretch from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico — is being considered largely in light of the work underway at the Panama Canal.
When the Panama project is finished, the canal will be able to accommodate ships with drafts as deep as 50 feet below the water's surface. That is 5 feet deeper than what's available on the lower Mississippi.
As the Corps now considers deepening the lower Mississippi, it will study the environmental impacts of the project, as well as its price tag.
