2020 Fall Farm Outlook

PAGE 18 2020 Logan County Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS October 28, 2020 It’s 2020 and Illinois has a big clog! A lot of weird things have happened in 2020: a virus that has caused a worldwide pandemic, double hurricanes, the whole west is on fire, and the Illinois river is clogged! The pandemic, hurricanes and fires were incidental, but the clog on the Illinois River was planned! Starting in 2019, the Army Corps of Engineers began an ambitious project of updating and refurbishing aging infrastructure along the Illinois River. Nine total locks and dams are scheduled to be upgraded with new concrete, gates, docking and machinery. The aging infrastructure of the Illinois River system is the oldest in the nation and the last to receive attention and maintenance. It was built during the 1920’s depression by CCC workers and was operational in the early 30’s, operating for almost 90 years without significant maintenance. In 2019, the Army Corps closed two locks for a short period, in 2020 closed five locks and dams to all boat traffic and the Corps will close two more in 2023 for needed maintenance. The significance of these lock closures: agricultural products that depend on the Illinois River to get to the Mississippi and down to the south Louisiana port near New Orleans are backed up and waiting for the river to reopen. Of the five major ports, New Orleans is the busiest agricultural port in the United States, exporting some two million metric tons of U.S. grain products to the rest of the world. The Illinois River provides access to about Lock construction image from The Waterways Journal CONTINUE X