JEFFERSON CITY -- The water is high and the boats are moving fast on the Missouri River.
Freight barge season has re-opened.
One towboat Tuesday was pushing a single-file tandem of four barges past Jefferson City. The barges carried 6,000 tons of fertilizer from St. Louis to Brunswick.
It was the first river cargo of the year.
Pushing against the strong current, the tow average was less than three miles per hour.
The boat burns 12,000 gallons of diesel fuel per day.
And while that sounds like an incredible expense, MoDOT officials reminded us this load replaces almost three hundred trucks on Missouri highways.
MoDOT Freight Development Administrator Ernie Perry said, “I believe it was 13 million tons compare to 1977 when it was about 30 million tons of goods. And it's just too big of a transportation asset not to use in today's conditions."
Officials say limited shipping infrastructure, water flow issues, and concerns about wildlife have limited the use of river barges in recent years.
MoDOT is working to put more cargo back on the state's longest waterway.
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