NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS [D-] |
A single barge traveling the nation's waterways can move the same amount of cargo as 58 semi-trucks at one-tenth the cost--reducing highway congestion and saving money. Of the 257 locks on the more than 12,000 miles of inland waterways operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, nearly 50% are functionally obsolete. By 2020, that number will increase to 80%. The cost to replace the present system of locks is more than $125 billion.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains more than 12,000 miles (19,200 kilometers) of inland waterways, and owns or operates 257 locks at 212 sites on inland waterways. These waterways--a system of rivers, lakes and coastal bays improved for commercial and recreational transportation--carry about one-sixth of the nation's intercity freight, at a cost per ton-mile about half that of rail, or one-tenth that of trucks.
Waterways are excellent ways to move large volumes of bulk commodities over long distances. The cargo capacity of a typical barge is equivalent to that of 15 large railroad cars, or 58 semi-trucks. A representative 15-barge tow on a main stem waterway moves the same cargo as 870 trucks stretching 35 miles on the interstate highway system. That same 15-barge tow would require two 100-car unit trains, extending nearly three miles in length.
Locks and dams can affect the environment. They slow the natural velocity immediately upriver from their locations, so that organisms adapted to fast-flowing water are replaced by those adapted to slow-flowing water, and dams trap sediments that would otherwise flow farther downstream. More dredging may be necessary to keep the navigation channels open.
The 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways, as do highways, operate as a system, and much of the commerce moves on multiple segments. They serve as connecting arteries, much as neighborhood streets help people reach interstate highways. These waterways are operated by the Corps of Engineers as multi-purpose, multi-objective projects. They not only serve commercial navigation, but, in many cases, also provide hydropower, flood protection, municipal water supply, agricultural irrigation, recreation and regional development.
Forty-one states, 16 state capitals and all states east of the Mississippi River are served by commercially navigable waterways. Domestic companies operating vessels on U. S. waterways increased 19.6% from 2002 to 2003.
Waterway usage is increasing, but the facilities are aging; many Corps-owned or -operated locks are well past their planned design life of 50 years. Of the 257 locks still in use in the United States, 30 were built in the 19th Century, another 92 locks are more than 60 years old. In other words, nearly 50% of all Corps-maintained locks were functionally obsolete by the beginning of 2005. Assuming that no new locks are built in the next 20 years, by 2020, another 93 existing locks will be obsolete--rendering more than 8 of every 10 locks now in service archaic.
As the system ages, the infrastructure cannot support the growing traffic loads, resulting in frequent delays for repairs. At the same time, the repairs become more expensive due to long-deferred maintenance.
The Inland Waterway Trust Fund, created in 1978, pays half the cost of the construction and major rehabilitation costs for specified federal inland waterways projects. It receives money from a tax on fuel (currently set at 20 cents per gallon) on vessels engaged in commercial transportation on inland waterways.
In recent years, there has been a number of major inland waterway infrastructure failures--a few years ago, the entire Ohio River system was closed for a time due to infrastructure breakdowns.
The fund earned $106 million in FY 2005, including approximately $91 million paid by the barge and towing industry, and $15 million in interest. The Corps of Engineers received $149 million for construction projects, leaving a balance of approximately $307 million. In FY 2006, the Corps is planning to spend $394 million on current maintenance projects, a sum that will not reduce the backlog of pending repairs that exceed $600 million.
In addition, the Bush administration proposed in February to spend $184 million from the trust fund for new construction in FY 2006. The trust fund balance remaining at the end of the year is expected to be $228 million--enough to begin addressing a significant portion of the maintenance backlog.
The Corps estimates that it would cost more than $125 billion to replace the present inland waterway system.
- Congress should amend the Inland Waterways Trust Fund Act of 1978 to allow all funds collected to be used for repair and construction of dams and locks. Congress should then appropriate the full fund balance each year to pay for the cost of rehabilitating the nation's oldest locks. The government needs to set a priority system for restoring locks that have outlasted their design lives, with an initial focus on all locks built in the 19th century. The current federal budget process does not differentiate between expenditures for current consumption and long-term investment. This causes major inefficiencies in the planning, design and construction process for long-term investments.
- In the interim, Congress must appropriate the full amount in the Inland Waterway Trust Fund to begin reducing the maintenance backlog.
- The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports the creation of a federal capital budget to create a funding mechanism that would help reduce the constant conflict between short-term and long-term maintenance needs. This would help to increase public awareness of the problems and needs facing this country's physical infrastructure, and would help Congress to focus on specific programs devoted to long-term growth and productivity.
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2006, February 2005
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The U.S. Waterway System, December 2004
