ACA Logo

Army Corps Little Rock District Set to Invest in Channel Deepening

The Little Rock District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that it was investing $92.6 million towards improving navigation along the Arkansas River by working to deepen sections of the river to meet its goal of providing a 12-foot channel. Advocates for river transportation have long sought authority and funding to make improvements that would lead towards a deeper channel for greater navigation opportunities for barge traffic. An additional $109.147 million for work on the “Three Rivers” project to control flooding and erosion near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers.

Funding for these projects was made available under the bipartisan infrastructure bill, known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was recently approved by Congress.

The Arkansas River system (McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation system, or MKARNS) 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 river also has five ports: Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Muskogee, Okla., and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma.

More below:

https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/139480/army-corps-in-little-rock-gets-extra-169m-for-navigation-flood-control-projects

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/03/feds-to-fund-start-of-arkansas-river-deepening-work-three-rivers-project/

https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2989500/usaces-little-rock-district-to-receive-1685-million-additional-infrastructure-i/