Coast Guard closes stretch of Lower Miss
An 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi River south of Memphis, Tenn., was closed to commercial traffic early in the week due to low water levels. The closed section reopened to limited vessel traffic late on Aug. 21 after dredges were able to clear a channel, but crews were working again on Aug. 22 to refloat a grounded vessel near Greenville, Miss., and allow limited barge traffic to resume. The U.S. Coast Guard said the closure left some 97 boats and barges waiting for passage. Roughly 33 northbound vessels were able to pass through the area before the grounding. The Coast Guard reported that this problematic section of the river has been closed intermittently since Aug. 11 when an earlier vessel ran aground.