U.S. Corps of Engineers upgrades Arkansas River to ‘high-use system’

Even with a 3% decline in tonnage shipped on the Arkansas River in 2014, the 445-mile system has been upgraded by the U.S. Corps of Engineers from a moderate use to a high-use system. River port operator Marty Shell says the upgrade should bolster the argument for more federal investment in the navigable waterway.

The upgrade was made public Monday (March 2) by the Arkansas Waterways Commission. The Commission statement said the Corps upgrades a waterway to high-use when it carries more than 10 million tons and more than $3 billion “ton-miles” of commodities in a year. The Commission said the waterway has a $1.3 billion annual economic impact on Arkansas’ economy. The river system is 445 miles long and stretches from the confluence of the Mississippi River to the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Okla. The controlled waterway has 18 locks and dams, with 13 in Arkansas and five in Oklahoma.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers reported in early January that 11.719 million tons floated up and down the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in 2014, down from the 12.139 million in 2013 but better than the 11.687 million in 2012 and the 10.6 million in 2011.

However, three sectors often connected to economic growth saw gains. There were 3.094 million tons of sand, gravel and rock shipped on the river, up 12%; 1.659 million tons of iron and steel products, up 15%; and 461,980 tons of minerals and building materials, up 7%. The iron and steel products are inbound shipments that typically go to manufacturing operations. Iron, sand, gravel, and minerals are classified as inbound shipments. Such shipments totaled 4.676 million tons in 2014, up 11%.

Marty Shell, owner of Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution which operates port facilities in Van Buren and Fort Smith, said years of investments and lobbying by port operators has helped improve activity on the river. That activity, he said, helped contribute to the upgrade.

“I think it’s due to the investment and hard work from the operators up and down the system. We go to D.C. and Little Rock several times every year to let the Corps and our Legislators understand that this river is an economic tool and has an economic impact for Arkansas and the state of Oklahoma,” Shell told The City Wire.

Shell said the upgrade could have two positive outcomes.
‘
“The Corps budget is continually being reduced … and they are under pressure to close locks or cut back operations. So for us to be a high use system, that means we have safeguarded ourselves, I would think, against some of those future cuts,” Shell said.

The other outcome is that higher use should result in higher funding priorities for projects to “keep our infrastructure at its best performance,” Shell said.

He also praised Arkansas’ Congressional delegation and local legislators for constant support, citing specifically U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and state Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith.

Gene Higginbotham, executive director of the Arkansas Waterways Commission, said the Arkansas River system still has room for growth.

“Currently, Arkansas has the distinction of being 3rd in the nation in the number of river miles, but 32nd in tonnage transported,” Higginbotham noted in the statement. “Our state has tremendous economic development opportunities in using the MKARNS to its capacity.”

Higginbotham said the upgrade follows approval to fund the “Three Rivers Study.” That $3 million study is needed to determine how best to protect the waterway where the system connects with the Mississippi River.

"There’s an issue where the White River is trying to cut through to the lower Arkansas River," which is an area that is not navigable, Higginbotham said in this report with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock public radio. "The (U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers has basically been putting band aids on it every year and we’re looking for a permanent solution. If the White River ever manages to cut through, we would lose navigation on the Arkansas River system for probably close to a year."