Barge traffic being impacted on the Mississippi River because of the drought of 2012. It’s a complicated issue says Steve Jaeger, executive director of the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District.
[audio:http://wrmj.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/barge-traffic.mp3|titles=barge traffic]
Jaeger says his 95-mile, six-county jurisdiction on the Illinois River typically sees 28-to-30 million tons of barge freight a year. This year, he says, should be in the 28 million range, even though barges this summer are not always full, so as to avoid hitting bottom.