Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation

over the cost of shipping by alternative modes. This translates into over $7 billion annually in transportation savings to America’s Inland Waterway Navigation
economy. Virtually all American consumers benefit from these lower transportation costs.

Modernizing America’s Inland Waterway Infrastructure Value to the Nation

T he nearly 12,000 miles of U.S. inland and intracoastal waterways include 191 commercially active lock sites with 237 lock
chambers. Some locks have more than one chamber, often of different dimensions. These locks provide the essential
infrastructure that allows tows to “stair-step” their way through the system and reach distant inland ports such as Minneapolis,
Federal Role Supporting Navigation
Chicago and Pittsburgh. The locks can generally be categorized by three different sizes, as expressed by length. About 15 percent
of the lock chambers are 1000 to 1200 feet long, 60 percent are 600-999 feet long, and 25 percent are less than 600 feet long.
Lock widths are mostly 110 feet. The 1200-foot locks can accommodate a tow of 17 barges plus the towboat, while the 600-foot
A s the world’s leading maritime and trading nation, the United States relies on an efficient Maritime Transportation System
(MTS) to maintain its role as a global power. The Federal government’s involvement in navigation projects dates to the early
days of the United States, when rivers and coastal harbors were the primary paths of commerce in the new country. Federal
locks can accommodate at most eight barges plus the towboat. The lock size and tow size are critical factors in the amount of cargo interest in navigation stems from the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and subsequent Supreme Court decisions defining the
that can pass through a lock in a given period of time. Federal government’s authority to regulate commerce and navigation, and to provide navigation improvements.

Over 50 percent of the locks and dams operated by the Corps are over 50 years old. Many of the 600-foot locks on the system Today, navigable inland waterways provide a cost-effective means for moving major bulk commodities, such as grain, coal and
were built in the 1930s or earlier, including those on the Ohio, Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee rivers. These projects are petroleum. Inland navigation is a key element of State and local government economic development and job-creation efforts,
approaching the end of their design lives and are in need of modernization or major rehabilitation. Since many of today’s tows and is essential in maintaining economic competitiveness and national security.
operate with 12 or more barges, passing through a 600-foot lock requires the tow to be “cut” into two sections to pass the lock.
Such multiple cuts can be time consuming and cause long queues of tows waiting for their turn to move through the lock. The Federal agencies most directly involved in the development and operation of the Nation’s navigation system are the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The responsibilities of both agencies are part of
In the 1960s the Corps began to modernize the locks on the Ohio River and add 1200-foot chambers that permit a typical tow to their broader jurisdictions that include both maritime and inland waterways transportation. The DOT, through the U.S. Coast
pass in a single lockage. This modernization process continues today with the construction of a new dam with twin 1200-foot locks Guard, has responsibility for vessel and navigation safety and provides navigation aids and search and rescue services. The
at Olmsted located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and a second 1200-foot chamber at McAlpine Locks and DOT’s Maritime Administration supports the development of U.S. ports, intermodal systems, and domestic shipping.
Dam near Louisville. Modern 1200-foot chambers are also being constructed at Kentucky Lock on the Tennessee River and at
Inner Harbor Lock on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at New Orleans. Other projects are underway in Pennsylvania, West The responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) is to facilitate the safe, reliable and economically efficient
Virginia, and Arkansas. In addition, several major rehabilitations are also underway. Altogether, this ongoing work represents an movement of vessels, and it does so by constructing and maintaining navigation channels and harbors, and regulating water levels
investment of over $3.5 billion in inland waterway modernization that will be completed over the next decade. Half this investment on inland waterways. The system of harbor channels and waterways developed and maintained by the Corps is an integral link
will come from fuel taxes paid by the inland towing industry. These projects include not only modern navigation facilities, but in the Nation’s intermodal transportation system. The inland waterway system carries one-sixth of the Nation’s volume of
also important investments in environmental restoration and management. intercity cargo. Meanwhile, on the coasts and Great Lakes, the importance of maintaining channel depths at more than 900 deep
and shallow draft harbor projects is underscored by the estimate that nearly 25 percent of the nation’s economic activity depends
Several key navigation improvement feasibility studies are underway throughout the inland waterway system, including on the on foreign trade handled by these ports. The MTS also provides critical national defense value by supporting the mobilization
Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, Ohio River, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Black Warrior River and the and sustainability of America’s military.
Tennessee River. Over the next few years, these studies will identify the navigation and environmental actions needed to support
the inland waterway system. While annual capital spending for the inland waterway system has averaged about $170 million in U.S. Inland & Intracoastal Waterways
recent years, the income stream from fuel tax revenues can support an annual capital investment program of about $250 million
without reducing the surplus in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (whose balance was $385 million at the end of 1999). It has been
estimated that postponing waterway modernization projects has already cost the Nation in excess of $1 billion in lost economic Snake
value. Timely completion of current inland navigation projects and justified future navigation improvements would allow America
Columbia
to meet the transportation challenges of the 21st Century while protecting and enhancing our Nation’s treasured river heritage.
Upper Mississippi

Inland Waterway Projects Underway

Allegheny

Monongahela
Illinois
Lower Snake River
Juvenile Salmon Ohio
Columbia Missouri Kanawha
River Mitigation
Mitigation Cumberland
Arkansas White
Upper Mississippi River Tennessee
Environmental Mgmt. Lower Mississippi Blk Warrior
Lwr Mon 2-4
Missouri River Ouachita Alabama Atlantic
4 Upper Miss
Mitigation Nearly 12,000 Mile System Tenn- ACF Intracoastal
Lock Rehabs Red Tom
Marmet Waterway
London 191 Lock Sites / 237 Chambers Active
Olmsted McAlpine Rhb
Replacement Value $125+ Billion Gulf
Kentucky Intracoastal Waterway

Montgomery Point
■ Major Rehabilitations Inland and Intracoastal Waterways
■ Construction Projects
■ Environmental Projects Inner
Harbor
O f the 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways and channels in the United States, approximately 12,000
miles constitute the commercially active inland and intracoastal waterway system maintained by the Corps. This network
includes nearly 11,000 miles of the “fuel-taxed inland waterway system.” Commercial waterway operators on these designated

USACE, Institute for Water Resources ● http://www.wrsc.usace.army.mil/iwr/navigation/navbrochure.htm ● David Grier ● (703) 428-6438 ● May 2000
Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation

waterways pay a fuel tax, deposited in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which funds half the cost of new construction and major ■ Coal is the largest commodity by volume moving on the inland waterways. America’s utility industry depends on the inland
rehabilitation of the inland waterway infrastructure. waterways for over 20 percent of the coal they consume to produce the electricity we depend on to run our homes, offices
and industries.
The Mississippi River and its tributaries and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) connect Gulf Coast ports, such as Mobile, ■ Petroleum is the next largest group, including crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heavy fuel oils and asphalt.
New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Corpus Christi, with major inland ports, including Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago,
Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico allows ocean shipping ■ Another large group includes grain and other farm products, most of which moves by waterway to ports on the Lower
to connect with the barge traffic, thereby making this segment vital to both the domestic and foreign trade of the United States. Mississippi or Columbia rivers for export overseas. In fact, America’s farmers depend on the inland waterways for more
In the Pacific Northwest, the Columbia-Snake River System allows navigation 465 miles inland to Lewiston, Idaho. than 60 percent of our farm exports.
■ Other major commodities include aggregates, such as stone, sand and gravel used in construction; chemicals, including
Waterways: The Most Efficient Mode of Freight Transportation fertilizers; metal and mineral ores and products, such as steel; and many other manufactured products.

A principal value of the inland waterways is their ability to efficiently convey large volumes of bulk commodities moving long
distances. Towboats push barges lashed together to form a “tow”. A tow may consist of four or six barges on smaller
waterways up to over 40 barges on the mighty Mississippi below its confluence with the Ohio. A 15-barge tow is common on the
Principal Inland Waterway Commodities
Coal 28%
larger rivers with locks, such as the Ohio, Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee rivers. Such tows are an extremely efficient Petroleum 20%
mode of transportation, moving about 22,500 tons of cargo as a single unit. As can be seen in the graphic, a single 15-barge tow
is equivalent to about 225 rail cars or 870 tractor-trailer trucks. If the cargo transported on the inland waterways each year had to
be moved by another mode, it would take an additional 6.3 million rail cars or 25.2 million trucks to carry the load. Imagine adding
this traffic with the associated air pollution to the already congested rail lines and highways that pass through our communities.
Aggregates Minerals 3%
The ability to move more cargo per shipment makes barge transport both fuel efficient and environmentally advantageous. On 13%
average, a gallon of fuel allows one ton of cargo to be shipped 59 miles by truck, 202 miles by rail, and 514 miles by barge. Carbon Steel 4%
Dioxide emission from water transportation were 10 million metric tons less in 1997 than if rail transportation had been used.
Inland waterways allow America to realize tremendous savings in fuel consumption, reduced air emissions from fuel combustion, Chemicals 9%
reduced traffic congestion, fewer accidents on our rail lines and highways, and less noise and disruption in our cities and towns.
Other 12%
Grain 11%
Alternate Transportation Mode Comparison
1997 Volume: 630 Million Tons

Value to the Economy

Barge 15-Barge Tow Jumbo Hopper Car 100 Car Unit Train Large Semi
1500 Ton 22,500 Ton 100 Ton 10,000 Ton 26 Ton
52,500 Bushels
453,000 Gallons
767,500 Bushels
6,804,000 Gallons
3,500 Bushels
30,240 Gallons
350,000 Bushels
3,024,000 Gallons
910 Bushels
7,865 Gallons
I nland and intracoastal waterways directly serve 38 states throughout the nation’s heartland as well as the states on the Atlantic
seaboard, the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Northwest. The shippers and consumers in these states depend on the inland
waterways to move about 630 million tons of cargo valued at over $73 billion annually. States on the Gulf Coast and throughout
the Midwest and Ohio Valley especially depend on the inland and intracoastal waterways. Texas and Louisiana each ship over
$10 billion worth of cargo annually, while Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and

1 Barge
= = 58 Trucks
Washington state each ship between $2 billion and $10 billion annually. Another eight states ship at least $1 billion annually.
According to research by the Tennessee Valley Authority, this cargo moves at an average transportation savings of $10.67 per ton

15 Jumbo Rail Hoppers Value of Inland Waterborne Trade (by State of Origin, 1997)

1
= = 870 Trucks

15-Barge Tow
21/4 Unit Trains

Equivalent Lengths

1/4 Mile 2 3/4 Miles 34 1/2 Miles

15 Barge Tow 2 1/4 Unit Trains Assuming 150 Ft. Between Trucks Over $10 Billion

$2 - 10 Billion
Major Commodities
$1 - 2 Billion
$100 Million to

B arges are well suited for the movement of large quantities of bulk commodities and raw materials at relatively low cost. The
inland and intracoastal waterway system handles about 630 million tons of cargo annually – or about 17 percent of all
intercity freight by volume. These are raw materials or primary manufactured products that are typically stored for further
$1 Billion
$Under $100
Million

processing or consumption, or transshipped for overseas markets. Lock Construction

or Rehabilitation

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation

waterways pay a fuel tax, deposited in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which funds half the cost of new construction and major ■ Coal is the largest commodity by volume moving on the inland waterways. America’s utility industry depends on the inland
rehabilitation of the inland waterway infrastructure. waterways for over 20 percent of the coal they consume to produce the electricity we depend on to run our homes, offices
and industries.
The Mississippi River and its tributaries and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) connect Gulf Coast ports, such as Mobile, ■ Petroleum is the next largest group, including crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heavy fuel oils and asphalt.
New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Corpus Christi, with major inland ports, including Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago,
Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico allows ocean shipping ■ Another large group includes grain and other farm products, most of which moves by waterway to ports on the Lower
to connect with the barge traffic, thereby making this segment vital to both the domestic and foreign trade of the United States. Mississippi or Columbia rivers for export overseas. In fact, America’s farmers depend on the inland waterways for more
In the Pacific Northwest, the Columbia-Snake River System allows navigation 465 miles inland to Lewiston, Idaho. than 60 percent of our farm exports.
■ Other major commodities include aggregates, such as stone, sand and gravel used in construction; chemicals, including
Waterways: The Most Efficient Mode of Freight Transportation fertilizers; metal and mineral ores and products, such as steel; and many other manufactured products.

A principal value of the inland waterways is their ability to efficiently convey large volumes of bulk commodities moving long
distances. Towboats push barges lashed together to form a “tow”. A tow may consist of four or six barges on smaller
waterways up to over 40 barges on the mighty Mississippi below its confluence with the Ohio. A 15-barge tow is common on the
Principal Inland Waterway Commodities
Coal 28%
larger rivers with locks, such as the Ohio, Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee rivers. Such tows are an extremely efficient Petroleum 20%
mode of transportation, moving about 22,500 tons of cargo as a single unit. As can be seen in the graphic, a single 15-barge tow
is equivalent to about 225 rail cars or 870 tractor-trailer trucks. If the cargo transported on the inland waterways each year had to
be moved by another mode, it would take an additional 6.3 million rail cars or 25.2 million trucks to carry the load. Imagine adding
this traffic with the associated air pollution to the already congested rail lines and highways that pass through our communities.
Aggregates Minerals 3%
The ability to move more cargo per shipment makes barge transport both fuel efficient and environmentally advantageous. On 13%
average, a gallon of fuel allows one ton of cargo to be shipped 59 miles by truck, 202 miles by rail, and 514 miles by barge. Carbon Steel 4%
Dioxide emission from water transportation were 10 million metric tons less in 1997 than if rail transportation had been used.
Inland waterways allow America to realize tremendous savings in fuel consumption, reduced air emissions from fuel combustion, Chemicals 9%
reduced traffic congestion, fewer accidents on our rail lines and highways, and less noise and disruption in our cities and towns.
Other 12%
Grain 11%
Alternate Transportation Mode Comparison
1997 Volume: 630 Million Tons

Value to the Economy

Barge 15-Barge Tow Jumbo Hopper Car 100 Car Unit Train Large Semi
1500 Ton 22,500 Ton 100 Ton 10,000 Ton 26 Ton
52,500 Bushels
453,000 Gallons
767,500 Bushels
6,804,000 Gallons
3,500 Bushels
30,240 Gallons
350,000 Bushels
3,024,000 Gallons
910 Bushels
7,865 Gallons
I nland and intracoastal waterways directly serve 38 states throughout the nation’s heartland as well as the states on the Atlantic
seaboard, the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Northwest. The shippers and consumers in these states depend on the inland
waterways to move about 630 million tons of cargo valued at over $73 billion annually. States on the Gulf Coast and throughout
the Midwest and Ohio Valley especially depend on the inland and intracoastal waterways. Texas and Louisiana each ship over
$10 billion worth of cargo annually, while Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and

1 Barge
= = 58 Trucks
Washington state each ship between $2 billion and $10 billion annually. Another eight states ship at least $1 billion annually.
According to research by the Tennessee Valley Authority, this cargo moves at an average transportation savings of $10.67 per ton

15 Jumbo Rail Hoppers Value of Inland Waterborne Trade (by State of Origin, 1997)

1
= = 870 Trucks

15-Barge Tow
21/4 Unit Trains

Equivalent Lengths

1/4 Mile 2 3/4 Miles 34 1/2 Miles

15 Barge Tow 2 1/4 Unit Trains Assuming 150 Ft. Between Trucks Over $10 Billion

$2 - 10 Billion
Major Commodities
$1 - 2 Billion
$100 Million to

B arges are well suited for the movement of large quantities of bulk commodities and raw materials at relatively low cost. The
inland and intracoastal waterway system handles about 630 million tons of cargo annually – or about 17 percent of all
intercity freight by volume. These are raw materials or primary manufactured products that are typically stored for further
$1 Billion
$Under $100
Million

processing or consumption, or transshipped for overseas markets. Lock Construction

or Rehabilitation

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation

over the cost of shipping by alternative modes. This translates into over $7 billion annually in transportation savings to America’s Inland Waterway Navigation
economy. Virtually all American consumers benefit from these lower transportation costs.

Modernizing America’s Inland Waterway Infrastructure Value to the Nation

T he nearly 12,000 miles of U.S. inland and intracoastal waterways include 191 commercially active lock sites with 237 lock
chambers. Some locks have more than one chamber, often of different dimensions. These locks provide the essential
infrastructure that allows tows to “stair-step” their way through the system and reach distant inland ports such as Minneapolis,
Federal Role Supporting Navigation
Chicago and Pittsburgh. The locks can generally be categorized by three different sizes, as expressed by length. About 15 percent
of the lock chambers are 1000 to 1200 feet long, 60 percent are 600-999 feet long, and 25 percent are less than 600 feet long.
Lock widths are mostly 110 feet. The 1200-foot locks can accommodate a tow of 17 barges plus the towboat, while the 600-foot
A s the world’s leading maritime and trading nation, the United States relies on an efficient Maritime Transportation System
(MTS) to maintain its role as a global power. The Federal government’s involvement in navigation projects dates to the early
days of the United States, when rivers and coastal harbors were the primary paths of commerce in the new country. Federal
locks can accommodate at most eight barges plus the towboat. The lock size and tow size are critical factors in the amount of cargo interest in navigation stems from the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and subsequent Supreme Court decisions defining the
that can pass through a lock in a given period of time. Federal government’s authority to regulate commerce and navigation, and to provide navigation improvements.

Over 50 percent of the locks and dams operated by the Corps are over 50 years old. Many of the 600-foot locks on the system Today, navigable inland waterways provide a cost-effective means for moving major bulk commodities, such as grain, coal and
were built in the 1930s or earlier, including those on the Ohio, Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee rivers. These projects are petroleum. Inland navigation is a key element of State and local government economic development and job-creation efforts,
approaching the end of their design lives and are in need of modernization or major rehabilitation. Since many of today’s tows and is essential in maintaining economic competitiveness and national security.
operate with 12 or more barges, passing through a 600-foot lock requires the tow to be “cut” into two sections to pass the lock.
Such multiple cuts can be time consuming and cause long queues of tows waiting for their turn to move through the lock. The Federal agencies most directly involved in the development and operation of the Nation’s navigation system are the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The responsibilities of both agencies are part of
In the 1960s the Corps began to modernize the locks on the Ohio River and add 1200-foot chambers that permit a typical tow to their broader jurisdictions that include both maritime and inland waterways transportation. The DOT, through the U.S. Coast
pass in a single lockage. This modernization process continues today with the construction of a new dam with twin 1200-foot locks Guard, has responsibility for vessel and navigation safety and provides navigation aids and search and rescue services. The
at Olmsted located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and a second 1200-foot chamber at McAlpine Locks and DOT’s Maritime Administration supports the development of U.S. ports, intermodal systems, and domestic shipping.
Dam near Louisville. Modern 1200-foot chambers are also being constructed at Kentucky Lock on the Tennessee River and at
Inner Harbor Lock on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at New Orleans. Other projects are underway in Pennsylvania, West The responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) is to facilitate the safe, reliable and economically efficient
Virginia, and Arkansas. In addition, several major rehabilitations are also underway. Altogether, this ongoing work represents an movement of vessels, and it does so by constructing and maintaining navigation channels and harbors, and regulating water levels
investment of over $3.5 billion in inland waterway modernization that will be completed over the next decade. Half this investment on inland waterways. The system of harbor channels and waterways developed and maintained by the Corps is an integral link
will come from fuel taxes paid by the inland towing industry. These projects include not only modern navigation facilities, but in the Nation’s intermodal transportation system. The inland waterway system carries one-sixth of the Nation’s volume of
also important investments in environmental restoration and management. intercity cargo. Meanwhile, on the coasts and Great Lakes, the importance of maintaining channel depths at more than 900 deep
and shallow draft harbor projects is underscored by the estimate that nearly 25 percent of the nation’s economic activity depends
Several key navigation improvement feasibility studies are underway throughout the inland waterway system, including on the on foreign trade handled by these ports. The MTS also provides critical national defense value by supporting the mobilization
Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, Ohio River, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Black Warrior River and the and sustainability of America’s military.
Tennessee River. Over the next few years, these studies will identify the navigation and environmental actions needed to support
the inland waterway system. While annual capital spending for the inland waterway system has averaged about $170 million in U.S. Inland & Intracoastal Waterways
recent years, the income stream from fuel tax revenues can support an annual capital investment program of about $250 million
without reducing the surplus in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (whose balance was $385 million at the end of 1999). It has been
estimated that postponing waterway modernization projects has already cost the Nation in excess of $1 billion in lost economic Snake
value. Timely completion of current inland navigation projects and justified future navigation improvements would allow America
Columbia
to meet the transportation challenges of the 21st Century while protecting and enhancing our Nation’s treasured river heritage.
Upper Mississippi

Inland Waterway Projects Underway

Allegheny

Monongahela
Illinois
Lower Snake River
Juvenile Salmon Ohio
Columbia Missouri Kanawha
River Mitigation
Mitigation Cumberland
Arkansas White
Upper Mississippi River Tennessee
Environmental Mgmt. Lower Mississippi Blk Warrior
Lwr Mon 2-4
Missouri River Ouachita Alabama Atlantic
4 Upper Miss
Mitigation Nearly 12,000 Mile System Tenn- ACF Intracoastal
Lock Rehabs Red Tom
Marmet Waterway
London 191 Lock Sites / 237 Chambers Active
Olmsted McAlpine Rhb
Replacement Value $125+ Billion Gulf
Kentucky Intracoastal Waterway

Montgomery Point
■ Major Rehabilitations Inland and Intracoastal Waterways
■ Construction Projects
■ Environmental Projects Inner
Harbor
O f the 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways and channels in the United States, approximately 12,000
miles constitute the commercially active inland and intracoastal waterway system maintained by the Corps. This network
includes nearly 11,000 miles of the “fuel-taxed inland waterway system.” Commercial waterway operators on these designated

USACE, Institute for Water Resources ● http://www.CorpsResults.us ● IWR Publications Office: (703) 428-9042 ● May 2000