Blasting Rocks in Mississippi River Seen as Key for Shipping

Rock formations have studded the bottom of the Mississippi River for eons. With drought-stressed water levels near record lows, shippers say they must be blasted away now to keep commerce moving on the nation’s busiest waterway.

That is setting up a conflict with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has plans to wait until February to award a contract to remove rocks, known as pinnacles, near the Illinois towns of Thebes and Grand Tower. It’s a complicated project involving synchronized dynamite blasts that may cost as much as $10 million.