By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri has added two more port authorities to the 17 it
already had, adding to the communities attempting to make the most out of an
ancient transportation hub: the Missouri
and Mississippi Rivers.
Administrator of Freight and Waterways for MoDOT, Levi Woods,
says upgrades made to the infrastructure of the Missouri River channel by the
Army Corps of Engineers have made that notoriously difficult river more
navigable.
“I think the reliability has been some of the concerns of the
shippers on the river,” Woods tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “The work they’re
doing to increase resiliency, I think, is much appreciated by the navigation
community.”
Woods says ports, such as the St. Joseph Port Authority, have
a big impact on the state economy.
“Missouri public ports support nearly 290,000 jobs annually in
the state of Missouri,” according to Woods. “That results in roughly $15.7
billion in labor income and over $100 million in annual economic activity.”
Port authorities and the barge traffic they support has a
bigger impact on the Missouri economy than most people think.
“And also, approximately 34% of Missouri’s economy, one out of
every 10 jobs in Missouri, is supported by Missouri ports,” Woods says.
Barge traffic on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers makes a
difference.
“So, as those economic impact study numbers show, it does have
an effect on Missouri’s economy,” Woods says.
Barge traffic also has an indirect impact by providing an
alternative to rail traffic, which helps to keep transportation costs lower.
Woods says the state is undergoing an extensive study on the
economic impact of Missouri port authorities and hopes to have updated numbers by
the end of the year.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.