An 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi River near Greenville, Mississippi, was closed Monday to most vessel traffic because of low water levels, idling nearly a hundred boats and barges in the stream, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
“We are allowing a limited number of vessels based on size” to attempt to pass, said New Orleans-based Coast Guard spokesman Ryan Tippets, adding that the closure was affecting 97 vessels Monday afternoon and was halting both northbound and southbound traffic.
The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers have continued surveying the area and deemed it “dangerous for vessels to travel through,” he said. The Army Corps of Engineers also has being dredging in the area to deepen the channel and help navigation.