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FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN WATERWAYS DEVELOPMENT
In 1820, Congress began addressing the navigational needs of the nation's interior by
authorizing a reconnaissance of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. It was made by
Captains H. Young and W. T. Poussin, and Lt. S. Tuttle of the Engineer Corps of
the Army. Fieldwork, begun in 1821, extended from Louisville to the mouth of
the Ohio River and from St. Louis to New Orleans on the Mississippi. Also, in
1821, two Engineer officers, Brig. Gen. Simon Barnard and Maj. Joseph G.
Totten, were detailed to make a thorough investigation of the Mississippi and
Ohio Rivers. Their report, submitted the following year, contained observations
on the physical characteristics of the rivers and gave considerable attention
to the formation and removal of snags. Legislation was enacted in 1824
directing the removal of snags and other obstructions from the channels of the rivers.
In 1831, a bold attempt was made to improve navigation conditions at the mouth of the
Red River by an artificial cutoff, proposed by Capt. Henry M. Shreve. A second cutoff
was made at Raccourci Bend, several miles below, by Louisiana in 1848.
Improvement of the mouth of the Mississippi River for seagoing navigation was first undertaken by Congress in 1837, with an appropriation made for an accurate survey of the passes and bars at the river's mouth. This survey was conducted by Capt. A. Talcott, Corps of Engineers, and finished in 1838. He recommended a plan for deepening the bars by dredging, but a lack of necessary funds prevented substantial progress on his channel & project.
By 1850, the growing river commerce, together with increasing destruction caused by floods, was creating demand for Federal participation in navigation improvements and flood protection.
In 1850, the Secretary of War, conforming to an Act of Congress, directed Charles Ellet Jr., an engineer, to make surveys and reports on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers with a view to the preparation of adequate plans for flood prevention and navigation improvement. His report was most complete, and it exercised considerable influence on later thought.
Also in 1850, Congress appropriated $50,000 for the preparation of a topographic and hydrographic survey of the delta of the Mississippi and for investigations to determine the most practicable plans for flood control and navigation improvements at the mouth of the river. But it was not until 1861 that Capt. A. A. Humphreys and Henry L. Abbott, of the Corps of Engineers, were able to complete their field investigations and submit their now-famous "Report Upon the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River; Upon the Protection of the Alluvial Region Against Overflow; and Upon the Deepening of the Mouths." While this report dealt primarily with flood control, it did consider the navigation problem in considerable detail and was a great step forward in the development of river engineering in the United States.
Meanwhile, the problem of keeping the river's mouth open to oceangoing traffic was one of serious growing concern to the Nation. Congress appropriated $75,000 In 1852 for improving the channel at the mouth of the river by contract.
It was not until 1867 that dredging operations were resumed at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but still the vexing problem was not solved. No significant progress had been made by 1873 when Capt. James B. Eads, a famous construction engineer, advocated a system of parallel jetties. He offered to open the mouth of the river by making a jetty-guaranteed channel 28 feet deep between Southwest Pass and the Gulf at his own risk. If he succeeded, his fee would be $10,000,000.
After much debate, in 1875 Eads was directed to begin his work, in South rather than Southwest Pass. He faced a difficult task, complicated by the existence of yellow fever and unfavorable financial arrangements; however, he pushed the project to completion. On July 8, 1879, a 30-foot channel was officially declared to exist at the mouth of the Mississippi.
The importance of the Mississippi River to the Nation had, by now, become firmly established. Congress had shown an increasing interest in flood control and navigation problems on the Mississippi, and legislation designed to improve this mighty stream for the use of the Nation was rapidly taking form. In 1874, Congress had authorized certain surveys of transportation routes to the seaboard. Among these was reconnaissance of the Mississippi River from Cairo to New Orleans, made under the direction of Maj. Charles R. Suter, an officer of the Corps of Engineers.
Five years later, a board of Engineer officers concluded that a complete levee system would aid commerce during periods of high water only. Their conclusion is noteworthy for considering flood control and navigation improvements as part of the same problem.
In that same year, 1879, on June 28, the Mississippi River Commission was created by Act of Congress as an executive body reporting to the Secretary of War. The Commission is composed of seven men nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.
Since the enactment of the Flood Control Act of May 15, 1928, the Commission has served as an advisory and consulting - rather than executive - body responsible to the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army. The general duties of the Commission include the recommendation of policy and work programs, the study of and reporting upon the necessity for modifications or additions to the flood control and navigation project, recommendation upon any matters authorized by law, making inspection trips, and holding public hearings. The work of the Commission is directed by the President of the Commission, acting as its executive officer, and carried out by U.S. Army Engineer Districts at St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans.
The President of the Commission also serves as Division Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer Division, Lower Mississippi Valley, headquartered in Vicksburg. The jurisdiction of this Division extends from about Hannibal, Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico. Work within the Division is carried out by the Engineer Districts listed above.
In 1896, Congress authorized a navigation channel 9 feet deep and 250 feet wide at low water between Cairo and Head of Passes. In 1928, the width was increased to 300 feet, and in 1944, the authorized channel depth from Cairo to Baton Rouge was increased to 12 feet at low water, with the authorized width remaining at 300 feet. (The 12-foot channel is to be obtained by a program of bank stabilization and maintained by dredging. Progress is being made on developing this channel, and a 9-foot depth is now being maintained.)
Early improvements of the Mississippi River above Cairo consisted mostly of removal of snags and closure of sloughs to confine low-water flows to the main channel.
Then in 1907, Congress adopted a project depth of 6 feet between the Missouri River just above St. Louis and Minneapolis, to be obtained by dredging and the construction of wing dams to contract the low-water channel.
As development of inland navigation continued, it became apparent that a depth of 6 feet on the upper Mississippi would not allow it to keep pace with the growing traffic on the 9-foot channels of the lower Mississippi and the Ohio. In 1930, following a careful study of the merits of improvement of the river, Congress authorized construction of a 9-foot channel between Minneapolis and the mouth of the Illinois River, just above St. Louis, providing for the construction of locks and dams. The act was modified in 1932 to provide for some modifications to the improvement plan. Since that time, additional modifications have been made to the basic project.
Under the plan of improvement, 36 locks and 29 dams were constructed. There are no locks and dams below St. Louis.
After the mouths of the Mississippi River had been opened and maintained in a navigable state, Congress authorized in 1945 the development of a navigation channel for oceangoing traffic in the lower reaches of the river. The depths and widths of the channel between Baton Rouge and the Gulf of Mexico are:
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