The Missouri River Freight Corridor Development Project Ernest B. Perry, Ph.D. Missouri Department of Transportation, and

The Missouri River and Freight Why Important Brief history of unique system Freight history Moving more freight

Missouri Central Midwest – w/in 500 miles of most of the US population, economy and spending power.

Why a Focus on Freight and the Missouri? ?? STIP returns Port investments 70% of Missouri’s economy w/in 30 minute drive of rivers 36% of all jobs and 24% of employers Plus – global access and water compelled rates

Why Focus on Freight? - continued  4th most diverse economy  Second and Third largest rail hubs  Third largest inland port  KCI and China hub  7 th largest highway system,  Freight Corridors – DTL, M55, M70, HSR

(Six Main Stem Reservoirs)

6 large dams allow flow regulation of Missouri River 27 Locks and Dams create “pooled reach” for navigation In drought, the Missouri River provides up to 2/3 of the flow through the “bottleneck reach” Kansas City St Louis New Orleans Minneapolis-St Paul “open river reach” “Bottleneck reach” Ohio River Missouri River Mississippi River Cairo Diagram of Mississippi River Flow During Drought

Missouri River Total Navigation Tonnage Million Tons Peak Total Tonnage Million Tons

Missouri River Freight Corridor Development Project Navigator’s meeting in early 2009 December 2009 at Rocheport, MO One of three R&D projects – this is the “Development”

Over 200 stakeholders that included shippers, agribusiness, developers, communities, trucking, ports and all levels of political interest. Agency Participation o Missouri Departments of: Natural Resources, Agriculture, Economic Development, Transportation. o Federal Agencies: USACE, USCG, MARAD, FHWA Supported by: Missouri Department of Transportation Hanson Professional Services

What the Industry says -  Reliability/use-ability  “Boutique” river  Critical mass is gone  Markets can drive this  Need Greater Awareness  “The Missouri has never been an easy river”

 8 years of drought  23 + years of political instability Or  Long Haul commercial up over 20%  A Renaissance on the River

Growth? - Concepts of Operation? Market Development Equipment and Infrastructure River Management and Policy Advocacy

Actively Develop Markets Traditional Approaches Other Options

New (and Old) Ways of doing Business Marine Highways New markets and services Coops Corn Days Industry focus, business supported

Infrastructure and Equipment Inventory

Potential Development Locations

Waterways….Our best kept secret Advocacy Roles Programmatic Regulatory Marketing Industry Community level

With adequate water in 2010, commercial long haul freight shipped on the Missouri River increased 24% in just one season.

Bird’s Point area

Summer 2011, NE District, MoDOT

What can we do? A Vision for Waterways, Freight and the Economy? A national strategy A regional and local strategy Multimodal Funded

Season Opener March 2010

The work continues, plans are in place for Spring How can we support this industry, these jobs? Thank You! Ernie Perry, Ph.D. Missouri Department of Transportation on/freight/index.htm