Chuck Grassley touts lock improvement project as among reasons for supporting infrastructure bill
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is pointing to a $732 million lock and dam, modernization project, announced this week, as one of the reasons he supported the Biden administration-backed $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson also claimed a share of the credit for the project's approval, though she joined the rest of Iowa's congressional Republicans in opposing the bill when it passed in early November.
The U.S. Army Corps said the money, representing the bulk of an $829.1 million lock and dam infrastructure package, will go to expansion of locks at a Mississippi dam near Winfield, Missouri, just north of St. Louis. When completed, the work will allow barges to more efficiently transport millions of tons of corn, soybeans and other goods.
Iowa farm and manufactured goods, loaded at ports in Burlington, Dubuque and Keokuk, pass through the locks on their way downriver.
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The corps said a second lock will be built next to the one that already exists at Lock & Dam No. 25. The new lock will allow for two-way traffic and will be bigger than the current one, easing the movement of larger, modern barges.
“By adding a second chamber, you can really ease up that congestion,” said Kirsten Wallace, executive director of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association.
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Currently, there is a single, 600-foot chamber for barges to pass through. It isn’t large enough to accommodate 15-barge tows, meaning they have to be disassembled, then reassembled after locking through, a time-consuming process. Getting a standard tow through can take more than two hours, according to the Army Corps. When the new, 1,200-foot chamber is added, passage will take 30-45 minutes.
The project is fully funded and will take roughly five to seven years to complete, according to the Army Corps.
In a news release, Grassley — one of 19 Republican senators to vote for the infrastructure measure — said Iowans have long supported the planned improvements. The Army Corps said initial feasibility work for the project at the 1930-era dam began in the late 1980s and design work started in 2007.
“Iowa’s agriculture, manufacturing and shipping industries rely on a functioning and efficient lock and dam system along the Mississippi River to move goods," said Grassley. "It’s an issue I often hear about during my 99 county meetings and regularly raise with the Army Corps of Engineers ... .
"When I voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, I was voting for exactly this type of federal support for critical infrastructure that Iowans depend on,” added the senator, who endured criticism from fellow conservatives for supporting the measure.
Hinson, in a joint news release, said she had joined Grassley and Democratic and Republican lawmakers from Illinois and Missouri in writing to the Army Corps, urging the Biden administration to allocate money from the infrastructure bill for the river project.
“The lock and dam system along the Upper Mississippi River is critical to Iowa’s agriculture economy and our country’s entire supply chain — this landmark investment will be game-changing for Iowans and communities along the Mississippi River like Dubuque," said Hinson. "Over 60 percent of our nation’s grain exports travel through this lock and dam system, and it is a massive economic engine for the entire state."
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Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Ankeny-based Soy Transportation Coalition, said that in addition to saving time, the new lock will ensure that river traffic doesn’t come to a halt if the old lock has a problem. Steenhoek said he hopes the announcement builds momentum for upgrades to other busy locks on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
In addition to the work near Winfield, $97.1 million will go for construction of a fish passage system on a lock and dam about 10 miles south of Hannibal, Missouri, to ensure that fish can spawn and move more easily through the river system.
“Up until this morning, we’ve never had the authorization to actually construct projects,” Andrew Goodall, a program manager for the Army Corps’ long-term navigation and ecology improvement efforts, said as the funding was announced Wednesday. He said it “opens the door” to make a positive effect on the river.
The lock expansion was part of the administration’s broader announcement that the Army Corps will have $14 billion from the infrastructure bill and other sources for Florida everglades restoration, upgrading ports and improving navigation on major waterways like the Mississippi, among other projects.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley touts lock and dam improvement project
