November 23, 2024
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Congress presses on river improvements in region

Lock improvements are planned for Mississippi and Illinois rivers

By Sauk Valley Media staff report

In this Sept. 5, 2013 photo, Col. Mark Deschenes with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tells Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, about the economic impact of lock and dam operations along the river as they tour the 75-year-old lock and dam in Peoria. Illinois lawmakers say congressional negotiators are moving toward an agreement on legislation authorizing improvements to shipping channels, flood protections and other waterways projects around the country. Among the Illinois projects are the lock and dam in Peoria and the Olmsted Lock and Dam between Illinois and Kentucky. (AP Photo/Journal Star, Fred Zwicky)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators and representatives from Illinois, Missouri and Iowa presented a letter Thursday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking it to prioritize lock improvements on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

$2.5 billion in funding for the projects is provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the lawmakers said.

The contingent was led by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, R- Illinois; Roy Blunt, R-Missouri; and Chuck Gassley, R-Iowa, along with Rep. Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from Illinois’ 17th District and Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Iowa’s 1st District.

In addition, the letter was signed by other lawmakers representing states in the region. Notable co-signers from this area were U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois; and U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Darin LaHood, both Illinois Republicans.

The lock improvement plan, officially the Navigational and Ecosystem Sustainability Program, was authorized in 2007.

The project is to modernize and expand seven outdated locks that are a source of river traffic congestion. Plans call for construction of 1,200-foot lock chambers.

It also is to fund $1 billion in environmental restoration, especially for wildlife and island habitats along the upper Mississippi.

A news release issued by the senators cited a 2019 study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that showed how rebuilding the locks would add $72 billion into the national gross domestic product.

“The regional and national economic benefits of NESP are significant,” the letter said.

The senators also noted support for the project from the agricultural and transportation sectors.

“A number of farmer organizations have recently offered $1 million of their own funds to get NESP started, and the navigation industry voluntarily sought and achieved a 45% increase in their commercial diesel user fee several years ago in part to help advance NESP construction,” the letter said.

Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-IL, with Iowa Democratic Reps. Dave Loebsack (left) and Bruce Braley, talks about the need to find different ways to fund repairs and updates to the nation’s waterway infrastructure. The three toured Lock and Dam 15 on the Mississippi River at Rock Island, before conducting a news conference to talk about Bustos’ legislation, the Water Infrastructure Now Public-Private Partnership Act, that would seek private funding to update and repair critical U.S. inland waterway infrastructure.

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