Midwest Flooding Devastates Freight Operations
June 19, 2008
Flood damage to Midwest freight operations continued to spread even as storms eased up in recent days.
The Army Corps of Engineers has closed 14 upper Mississippi River locks to barging, covering 315 river-miles. Meanwhile, truckers find many secondary highways still closed in the region, causing long detours around flood zones or lost business from area shippers, and Iowa officials say the floods "decimated" the rail network there.
Although flood waters were receding from the streets of Cedar Rapids, a major commercial center for Iowa, and Iowa City, authorities braced for a new wave of damage in the state's southeastern corner as flood crests moved on Keokuk.
For trucking, earlier closures were lifted from parts of east-west Interstate 80 in Iowa, but numerous state highways across the state as well as some interstate ramps remained closed. New flooding closed highway bridges crossing the Mississippi River at Burlington and Fort Madison, and curtailed bridge traffic at Keokuk.
Farther south, Norfolk Southern Railway has shut down operations in the area of Hannibal, Mo., and levee breaks have flooded some parts of Illinois.
The Iowa Department of Transportation cited "reports of major railroad bridges either entirely or partially swept away by floodwaters in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Dunlap, Liscomb and Marshalltown; many smaller bridges are totally destroyed or damaged."
It said while railroads have already repaired some flood-damaged track, numerous washouts are visible while others are still hidden by remaining high water.
Total rail damage for that state, the agency said, will probably top that suffered during the Midwest floods of 1993.
Morgan Stanley analyst William Greene said rail traffic has been slowed across the region, affecting traffic through the key hubs of Chicago and Memphis. He said Union Pacific Railroad has been hardest hit, followed by BNSF Railway and Canadian National. Numerous short lines have also suffered significant damages or lost revenue.
-- John D. Boyd, Traffic World
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