Review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Restructured Upper Mississippi-Illinois River Waterway Feasibility Study

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a long history of managing navigation, floods, and other water-related issues on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. A recent chapter in that history is the problem of waterway congestion at several locks on the lower portion of the Upper Mississippi River. The Corps has studied this problem and its possible solutions since the late 1980s, producing a draft feasibility study in 2000 and an interim report on a restructured feasibility study in 2002. A committee was convened to review and provide advice on the most recent phase of the Corps' analytical efforts.Table of ContentsFront MatterExecutive Summary1 The Corps of Engineers and the Upper Mississippi River-IllinoisWaterway2 Findings and RecommendationsReferencesAppendix A: Spatial Equilibrium Models and the U.S. Grain SectorAppendix B: National Research Council Board Membership and StaffAppendix C: Committee Member and Staff Biographies