ARKANSAS, USA — A massive construction project to make the Arkansas River more navigable for heavier barge traffic is finally underway after two decades in the making.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in the Little Rock and Tulsa districts, is beginning the planning and design work to deepen the shipping channel to 12 feet on the 445-mile McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS). The system runs from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa southeast through Arkansas to the Mississippi River near Helena.
The MKARNS 12-foot Channel Deepening Project first gained federal approval in 2004 but no funding was appropriated for it. That changed with the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which was passed in late 2021.
To read more on this construction project, our content partner Arkansas Business has the full story here.
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