The Army Corps of Engineers held a groundbreaking ceremony marking the beginning of repairs to a lock and dam on the Upper Mississippi River that’s crucial to shipping corn, soy and other commodities.
Lock and Dam #25, almost 50 miles north of St. Louis, hasn’t been extensively repaired since it was constructed in the early 20th century. Funding for the project was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Lock and Dam #25 was opened in 1939 and is the most southern lock and dam on the Mississippi River with a single, 600 ft. X 110 ft. lock chamber. Most every bushel of soybeans, corn, and other grain transported along the Mississippi River from the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin will pass through Lock and Dam #25 en route to export facilities near the Gulf of Mexico.
The Illinois Corn Growers Association, long at the forefront of advocating for updates to the Lock and Dam, applauded the development. “Our hope is this will be the beginning of a waterfall of infrastructure work on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers,” says ICGA President Matt Rush.
The Army Corps of Engineers estimates the project will be completed in 2034.
NAFB News, Soy Transportation Coalition
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