PORT: RIVER PUTS HALT TO ALL OPERATIONS

SCOTT CITY - With the bulging Mississippi River closed to traffic and water at record levels, normal activity at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority has come to a halt.

There is still plenty of other activity around the port, however, with Girardeau Stevedores, the dock operators, using the time to get equipment repaired and in good condition.

That will help with the work that lies ahead after waters recede to get the dock back in shape and begin moving products through the port again.

There is no shortage of traffic on the port road though; since water is blocking the main entrance to West Lake Quarry, that company's trucks are passing through the port road to the quarry.

"We've got a lot of water down there but don't anticipate any serious damage," said Dan Overbey, executive director of the port authority.

Most of the dock has three feet or more of water over it. Girardeau Stevedores was unloading barges at the dock until July 10 when the water got too high and the river was closed.

"All the equipment is on higher ground and as best I can tell there won't be a lot of big problems it's just that things are under water," said Overbey.

The port access road sits high enough to avoid flood water and a large fertilizer storage tank is still three feet above the rising water, which should keep it clear.

Girardeau Stevedores has a 10,000-square-foot warehouse on the dock that is being used to store equipment. Some sandbags have been put in place around the building as a precautionary measure.

Overbey said there will be a lot of cleanup work but doesn't anticipate much of a rush to catch up on moving products through the port.

"I don't think we'll be overwhelmed when this all ends," said Overbey.

Several barges that were en route to the SEMO Port Authority have been delayed up river, and others wanting to use the port have had to utilize other products or alternate forms of transportation.

"Hopefully, we'll just get back to a routine level of business," said Overbey.

The one area of concern that port officials have is with the 1,800-foot slackwater harbor. Both the harbor and the dock were constructed to withstand flooding, but the harbor could potentially be damaged if there is much current.

"I really don't know about the impact on the harbor," said Overbey. "The question there is did the water wash something loose and did it drop in a lot of silt? We are hoping the water is still enough so the current flow doesn't do any damage to it. We are just crossing our fingers and hoping it's all still in place."

Under an agreement with the Corps of Engineers, the corps dredges the harbor each year as part of regular harbor maintenance. But Overbey said if there are slides they may not be covered by the corps agreement. Another concern is that with all of the flooding, the dredging may be more difficult this year. And, the corps may also be tied up with other flood damage projects.

But Overbey remains optimistic that once the flood ends the port authority can get back in full operation.

"I think the harbor and dock will come through this in pretty decent shape, but you don't know until you see it. There is a little concern, of course. But both were designed and built for flooding and we are not expecting any serious damage."