Mississippi River's Record High Water Wreaks Havoc on River Traffic and Commerce in South Louisiana
By Anthony McAuley, The Advocate, Baton Rouge
The Mississippi River’s record high-water season, which is stretching into its seventh month, is wreaking havoc on commerce and river traffic up and down the waterway’s 2,300-plus miles. The historic flooding has not only inundated millions of acres of agricultural land — including Louisiana farmland — and caused widespread damage to levees, dams, bridges and roads. It has also put enormous strains on the commercial river traffic that is a lifeblood of American industry.