Mississippi River Closed Near Natchez

A 15-mile stretch of the Mississippi River near Natchez, Miss., is closed to barge traffic, severing a busy route for shipments of grain and other cargoes.

The Coast Guard ordered the closure to reduce the strain on levees during high water that has caused flooding from the Midwest to Louisiana. The closed section is between points 350 and 365 miles upstream from the river’s delta. The section is about 250 miles upriver from New Orleans and is upstream from spillways that have been opened to reduce water levels at New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

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Two northbound vessels and one southbound vessel were waiting for the closed river section to be reopened, the Coast Guard said. There was no word on when the river might reopen. The river is forecast to crest at Natchez on Saturday.

“Higher water poses a greater threat to mariners and flood-control structures," said Cmdr. Timothy Wendt, chief of waterways management at the Coast Guard’s 8th District in New Orleans. "We're working very closely with the Army Corps of Engineers as well as industry partners to facilitate the safe movement of commerce and protect these flood-control structures.”

In addition to the closed river section around Natchez and Vidalia, La., the Coast Guard closed a branch of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway linking Morgan City, La., with Port Allen, La., across the river from Baton Rouge. The Morgan City-Port Allen barge channel is heavily used by barges carrying oil and petrochemicals.

Ship traffic has continued uninterrupted at New Orleans. Port officials say the opening of the Morganza floodway into the Atchafalaya River basin and the Bonnet Carre spillway into Lake Pontchartrain is expected to keep the river level steady and avert restrictions on vessel traffic.

The Corps of Engineers added a fifth dredge at Southwest Pass, the main channel between the river and the Gulf of Mexico, to clear sediment that is deposited by the high water and threatens to reduce the channel’s draft below its normal 45 feet.

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.