The Associated Press spent the day on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with

(12 Dec 2012) STORY
Engineer: Laying 'concrete beds' in Miss. River
CAPTION: The Associated Press spent the day on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was granted exclusive access to the only "mat sinking unit" in the world. (Dec. 12)
On the Mississippi River, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the AP spoke with the Joel Brown, Chief of the Mat Sinking Unit for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Associated Press spent the day on the river between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and was granted Exclusive access to the only "mat sinking unit" in the world.
As the fight to keep commerce flowing up and down the third largest watershed in the world, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not only dredging but also laying football field sized concrete mats. Each mat is carefully dropped on the banks and rolled out 800 feet on the bottom of the murky waters in some places.
250 men and women will be at this until late February, the longest in over ten years because of the 2012 drought and low waters. The Mississippi River is a hostile, ever-changing serpentine of a waterway. Dramatic flooding, droughts and erosion continue to batter and challenge the economic engine. If commerce is halted in December and January the losses could be around 7 billion dollars.
The concrete revetment mats have been layed since the 1920's on a 1000 mile stretch, essentially keeping the giant river "in place" and the latest effort is crucial to the flow of barges carrying grain, coal, rocks and more out of the Port of New Orleans and around the world.

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