Mississippi reopens to river traffic, New Orleans port operations normal

THE US Coast Guard has reopened a nine-mile stretch of the Mississippi at Baton Rouge that had been closed Friday when three barges sank amid high water and fast currents.


Authorities now allow transits of northbound barges while plans are made to salvage the sunken barges, reports Newark's Journal of Commerce. Southbound barges will be allowed to transit once the northbound backlog is cleared. Record flooding has produced swift, unpredictable currents that hinder navigation on the main route or grain exports.


The opening of diversionary spillways upstream from Baton Rouge has stabilised water levels at the Port of New Orleans, which has remained open to shipping throughout. The US Army Corps of Engineers has deployed additional dredges to clear silt dumped at the river's mouth by the high water.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)