The recent closure of an Alabama lock demonstrates exactly why it is crucial to fund updates to infrastructure along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Mitch Mays, secretary and administrator of the Tenn-Tom Development Authority, told the Rotary Club of Columbus on Tuesday.
Since a concrete failure shut down the Demopolis Lock near Demopolis, Alabama, in January, waterway traffic to Mobile has seen significant setbacks that are affecting Mississippi companies, Mays said.
“A piece of the lock wall fell over into the lock, and it’s been shut down since then,” he said. “So no traffic out of North Mississippi can go south on the Tenn-Tom down to Mobile. It’s costing millions of dollars to some companies. It’s cut the tonnage in half from what I’ve been able to tell.”
Normally, about 7 million tons of bulk raw products, like coal and wood, are shipped down the Tenn-Tom each year, Mays said. With the closure in Demopolis, waterway traffic that would usually head south has to instead ship north up to the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky, over to the Mississippi River and then back down to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in order to reach Mobile.
Repairs to the Demopolis Lock are expected to be completed in May, but in the meantime, business and industry along the waterway suffer, Mays said.
“It almost shut us down,” he said. “Steel Dynamics is a perfect example. They’re still using the Tenn-Tom, but they’re having to go a different route. … There’s been several companies out of Lowndes County Port that are having to spend extra money that they otherwise would not have had to spend.”
Nearly 75 years old, the Demopolis Lock was only built for a 50-year usable lifespan. The Tenn-Tom Development Authority has asked Congress to conduct a feasibility study into building a new lock at Demopolis as a first step in furthering that lifespan.
Mays said the entire situation is a reminder of the importance of funding updates to aging infrastructure.
“We all use the roads,” he said. “We all use the bridges. But the waterway is (also) a part of the infrastructure.”
The Tenn-Tom saves companies $100 million in transportation costs yearly, shipping as much as 1.2 billion ton-miles of commerce each year, Mays said. When aging infrastructure causes unforeseen closures, he said, companies that rely on the waterway see diminished benefits from being located in cities along the Tenn-Tom.
“Steel Dynamics wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Tenn-Tom Waterway,” he said. “There’s a multitude of other companies in the area. … If it weren’t for the waterway and the availability of it, those companies wouldn’t be here. The waterway is vitally important to the economy of Lowndes County.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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