An Army Corps of Engineers official says crews scooping out Mississippi River bedrock in southern Illinois are making steady progress.
Corps programs director Edward Belk said Wednesday 39 cubic yards of rock had been removed. That's less than 5 percent of the total targeted amount. Work started Sunday to remove dangerous rock pinnacles along a 6-mile stretch of the river near Thebes. Barge traffic is threatened because the river's water level is so low between St. Louis and Cairo.
So far, crews are using excavating machinery to remove the pinnacles, described as six times harder than concrete. Belk says he expects explosives will eventually be used to help remove rock. Belk gave an update at a meeting of an Inland Waterways Advisory Board in Paducah.
