Fridays backlog on the Ohio river that led to closure of a pair of locks has caught the attention of Waterways Council officials. Council Senior Vice President Deb Calhoun says that disruption led to the backlog of 69 tow boats and over 700 barges. She says that points to the need for passage of legislation to upgrade locks and dams in a major infrastructure package.
Earlier President Trump proposed a $ 1 trillion infrastructure plan but Congress has yet to act on that or any infrastructure measure. Calhoun says as locks and dams continue to deteriorate it hampers all of America’s farmers ability to get their crops to market.
She says the latest backlog came at a bad time during harvest for Eastern Corn Belt farmers.
Calhoun says both locks 52 and 53 on the Ohio river experienced disruptions earlier in September preceding this recent incident.
