Extreme Winter Delays Shipping On Upper Mississippi River

The harsh winter has led to a lengthy delay of the shipping season on the Upper Mississippi River.

The first barge normally arrives in the La Crosse area by March 21, but a barge industry spokesperson says it will be at least a week or two before they expect to see the first cargo in La Crosse.

At Brennan Marine in La Crosse, about 30 workers are still waiting for a call back to work. Quality control officer Kent Pehler says a shorter season still has the potential to be a success.

“It’s not all negative, the later start,” he said. “It’s challenging for employees that they have to be on unemployment longer than we would like. But from the business perspective, we will be busier, and that increases some efficiencies.”

Pehler says there’s a pent-up demand to restock resources like coal and road salt after the long winter.

The start of the shipping season on the upper Mississippi River is defined as when the first barge is able to get through Lake Pepin, a large lake between Winona and St. Paul, Minn., and reach Saint Paul. The latest ice measurements two weeks ago showed the lake still covered by up to 2.5 feet of ice.

In the 45 years the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has kept records, ice has delayed the shipping season until April just five times. In 2008, shipping had to be delayed until April 11 — the latest starting date for any season on record.