JACKSON, Miss. — The Coast Guard reopened the swollen Mississippi River north of New Orleans on Tuesday, allowing cargo vessels on the nation’s busiest waterway to pass one by one in the latest effort to reduce pressure from rising floodwaters.
A 15-mile stretch at Natchez, Miss., was closed earlier in the day, blocking vessels heading toward the Gulf of Mexico and others trying to return north after dropping off their freight. Had the channel remained closed, it could have brought traffic to a standstill up and down the river, which moves about 500 million tons of cargo each year.
That sort of interruption could have cost the U.S. economy hundreds of millions of dollars for every day of idled barges carrying coal, timber, iron, steel and more than half of America’s grain exports.
Coast Guard officials said wakes generated by passing barge traffic could increase the strain on levees designed to hold back the river. Authorities also were concerned that barges could not operate safely in the flooded river, which has risen to the level of some docks and submerged others.
“We’re closely monitoring traffic along the river, and all vessels must stay to the center of the river,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark Moland.
It’s not clear how long barges would only be able to move one at a time through the section. The river is expected to stay high in some places for weeks.
The Coast Guard did not have comprehensive figures on how many vessels were immediately affected, but the agency stopped at least 10 near Natchez on Tuesday.
