Mississippi River Transportation Role

Many of us look at the Mississippi River as a great source of recreation, we cruise the river in many different ways, some of us use houseboats, others ski-boats and canoes. But the Mississippi River plays a major role in the transportation of goods and services which helps many local economies. It is a gateway to and from world markets, the Mississippi River supplies the region with nearly 250,000 jobs and is one of the cheapest ways to ship goods. There are more than 11,000 miles of navigable water in the Mississippi River and the Upper Mississippi River Valley accounts for 1,300 miles of water. Port of La Crosse alone imports 1.2 tons in commodities valued at $154 million. That's 55 15-barge tows each carrying 22,500 tons. If you was to transport that by truck it would take 49,000 vehicles and span across 600 miles of road. That is a huge amount of goods moving up and down the river. Minnesota transports about 60 percent of its agriculture exports down the river. Port of Winona handles about 18 percent of that. Ports are always looking to increase the use of that navigational system and are always looking for more commodities that can be shipped. Using the Mississippi River as a way to transports goods is cost-effective and safer than other means of transportation. Transporting goods on the Mississippi River is approximately 63 percent cheaper than rail and 94 percent cheaper than truck. A barge can carry more, it's equal to 70 trucks and 16 rail cars, and fuel for a barge goes further too. Statistics show that for every death through water transportation, there are 155 deaths on the road and 22 on the railroad. Port of Winona is now expanding their commercial dock because demand to ship on the Mississippi River is hugely increasing, they plan to have it finished by the end of this year.
As we all enjoy our pleasure crafts on the Mississippi River, we should all take a moment and realize how important the river is, not only for pleasure but also for a productive economy. Let's all do our part to help maintain the integrity of the Mississippi River that we have all come to love.
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