![]() ![]() "It takes a long time to build and rebuild these projects, and it costs a lot of money, so if we're not looking well out into the future and doing the things we need to do today, when the future comes we may not be ready for it," said Matt Woodruff, Kirby's head of public and government affairs. and Buffalo Marine, asked for the tax hike to 29 cents per gallon, up from 20 cents. Recognizing the need to modernize, roughly 300 inland barge companies will begin paying a higher tax April 1 on diesel to raise money for repairs and improvements.Ī coalition of barge operators and commodities shippers led by the Waterways Council, including Houston-based companies Kirby Corp. Army Corps of Engineers, Chronicle research See More Collapse The Corps maintains inland waterways infrastructure.Ģ42: Number of locks and dams on American riversġ2,000: Miles of navigable inland waterwaysĦ0 percent: Share of locks and dams that are 50-plus years oldĩ-cent tax increase: Expected to generate $35 million to $40 million more revenue a year for infrastructure rehabilitationĥ66.7 million: Tons of goods worth $216 billion moved through American inland waters in 2013Ĥ0 percent: Increase in traffic through the Brazos River floodgates in the past 3 yearsģ00: Number of companies that will pay the higher rateġ gallon: Diesel fuel required to move a ton of barge cargo 616 milesĢ7,500-barrel barge: Accommodates the equivalent of 46 rail cars, or 144 trucksĤ06 miles: Length of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Texasħ7 million tons: Amount of freight that moves through each year Army Corps of Engineers navigation program. How long can you expect that to last?" said Jim Walker, director of navigation policy and legislation for the American Association of Port Authorities, who formerly ran the U.S. "You're using this infrastructure that was essentially built by our grandparents. But more than half of the country's locks and dams are at least 50 years old, and funding has not kept up with demand for maintenance. Traffic through the Brazos gates has surged by 40 percent over the last three years, channeling more than 2.5 million tons of cargo a month to support a strengthening U.S. The wooden sides of the channel are pocked from scrapes and bumps. ![]() The Brazos floodgates and their bank walls take more hits from boats and barges than any other of the 242 locks and dams among American rivers - about one every four days, staff estimated. "It's like a small freight train on ice," assistant lockmaster Robert George said. The 60-degree angle boats must turn while navigating the river between the gates is one of the toughest stretches to maneuver. Towing barge carrying 3,500 tons of liquid asphalt slides through the 75-foot-wide east gate toward Galveston, churning more silt behind it. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show LessįREEPORT - Laps of muddy water whirl through the open floodgates where the Brazos River meets the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show Less 4 of4 The Brazos floodgates and their bank walls are struck more often than any of the other 242 locks and dams along American rivers. ![]() De Jesus/Staff Show More Show Less 3 of4 Mark Teague, an operator of the Brazos River east gate in Freeport, watches as a vessel passes through. De Jesus/Staff Show More Show Less 2 of4 Mark Teague, an operator of the Brazos River east gate in Freeport, watches as a vessel passes through. About 1,300 vessels pass through a month carrying commercial goods. The floodgate construction started in 1941 and it still works, but it needs to be modernized and widen. 1 of4 A 54-foot wide chemical barge carrying 3,500 tons of liquid asphalt passes through the 75-foot wide Brazos River floodgate east gate, Tuesday, March 24, 2015, in Freeport. ![]()
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