Army Corps of Engineers set to remove sunken barge from Stennis Lock and Dam, minimal impact to business on waterway

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says they expect to start removing the sunken barge that is lodged against the Stennis Lock and Dam in Columbus by the end of the week.

The rock salt barge crashed into the Stennis Lock and Dam on June 10th.

“During high water and flooding events, anything can happen,” says Mitch Mays, administrator for the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority. “We have barges breaking loose from their moorings and hitting spillways.”

The blockage caused water levels to rise 6 feet above normal and caused some delays in traffic along the river.

“Traffic was not entirely closed on the waterway, but anything north of Stennis and south of Bevill was not available for transit while the locks were closed,” Mays says.

The barge has been at the bottom of the Tom Bigbee River for nearly two weeks. The Army Corps of Engineers says they plan to start clearing away the wreckage by Friday.

First, they have to finish clearing away the other barge that blocked up the Bevill Lock and Dam.

“The barge at the Stennis lock is blocking three of the five gates,” Mays says. “So it is flat against the spillway, whereas the barge at Bevill went in at an angle and damaged one of the gates.”

Even with two blocked dams, Mays says there has only been a minimal impact to business on the Waterway.

“We did hear from a handful of companies that were wanting to know when they’d be able to get some of their cargo to their plant,” he says. “Some of it was time-sensitive. But with the waterway reopened, the locks reopened, barges are able to move without any hesitancy or anything holding them back.”

With water levels continuing to drop, Mays says it won’t be long before the Corps of Engineers has everything flowing smoothly once again.

“They’ve got experienced and expert crews that are working to remove these barges,” Mays says. “The company has done this before and there shouldn’t be any issues.”

The Army Corps of Engineers says their team will work through the weekend and hope to have the barge removed by next week.

Mays says they don’t expect the sunken vessel to cause any environmental problems for the river.