Soundings - 100 Years at the Missouri River Navigation Project.
Abstract
This report presents a pictorial history of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers role in taming the Missouri River focussing mainly on the Kansas City District's role in making the lower channel compatible for commercial navigation. The report is not limited to photographs but contains details on all aspects of the work undertaken by the Kansas City District from 1907 through the Depression Era and World War II to the present. Navigational hazards that had to be overcome are demonstrated by a discussion of the sinking of the towboats 'Minnesota,' 'Mary B,' and 'Tampico.' River changes are illustrated in photographs and the text. Various means to accomplish a safe channel are revealed in descriptions of the Corps working vessels: the quarterboat, the Dredges - the 'Lewis and Clark' and the 'Mitchell' and remembrances of some who worked on the river from as early as 1929. Descriptions are provided of the stern dock and marine way at the Gasconade boatyard, the woven mat process, the pile drive process, and river cut-off construction. The ancillary benefits of the Corps improvement of the river are discussed in the safe commercial use of the navigational channel and associated environmental benefits.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA322235
Entities
People
- John Ferrell
Organizations
- United States Army Corps of Engineers