Study to Protect River Commerce Included in President’s Budget

LITTLE ROCK, AR (February 2, 2015): A study to protect navigation on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is included in President Obama’s Fiscal 2016 Budget for the Army’s Civil Works program. At a press conference today in Washington, D.C., the Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Commanding General, released details of the President’s budget.

The study will focus on the Three Rivers area, located at the confluence of the Mississippi, White, and Arkansas Rivers in Desha and Arkansas counties, Arkansas. The area is the starting point for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which begins at the mouth of the White River and runs 445 navigable miles to Catoosa, Oklahoma.

The study is estimated to cost $3 million, 50% federal and 50% local. The Arkansas Waterways Commission has agreed to be the local sponsor.

“We appreciate Senator Boozman and the rest of the Congressional delegation of Arkansas for their tireless efforts,” says Gene Higginbotham, Executive Director, Arkansas Waterways Commission. “We also thank the Army Corps of Engineers and the President for recognizing how important this project is the MKARNS and to the state of Arkansas.”

Arkansas Waterways Commission

The Arkansas Waterways Commission is the sole state agency responsible for developing, promoting and protecting waterborne transportation in Arkansas. The Commission also promotes economic development for ports on the five commercially navigable rivers of the state: The Arkansas, Mississippi, Ouachita, Red, and White River. Visit the Commission’s website at waterways.arkansas.gov