Mississippi River flooding limits service
Terral RiverService is currently coping with a very high Mississippi River, unlike any we have ever seen or hope to see again. Rains in the Ohio Valley and the Upper Mississippi River have created a record-high water event on the Lower Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers is projecting the highest river levels in history for towns such as Greenville, Mississippi; Tallulah, Louisiana; Lake Providence, Louisiana; and Vidalia, Louisiana. All of these towns have Terral RiverService river operations.
We are still a week or so from a crest for our locations, and most have already began to flood. We have closed our Greenville operations and expect it to remain closed for the month of May. Our Pine Bluff, Arkansas location remains open, but with no product due to navigation being closed on the Arkansas River. Lake Providence remains open and will continue direct transferring fertilizer off our terminal dock and loading out of our fertilizer warehouse on a limited basis. We have stockpiled rock on higher ground, but will be unable to load grain or offload other commodities until the river recedes. Our fleet at Lake Providence is still serving our port customers, but is operating under a limited capacity. Our Madison Port operation in Tallulah, Louisiana is expected to close in the next couple of days, once the water becomes too high to access the road leading to our location. We have sand-bagged the Tallulah office in anticipation of high water and closure. Our liquid storage operations remain open, safely located on the protected side of the levee. Our Vidalia, Louisiana operation is closed until the river recedes. All other locations, although influenced by the high river, remain open and operational. This would include Alexandria, Louisiana; Mermentau, Louisiana; Lettsworth, Louisiana; and Columbia, Louisiana.
Our marine operations are currently in service but restricted by high water. The Old River Lock is expected to close on May 11 or May 12, which will virtually close our fleeting operation at mile 304 LMR. Certain towing operations on the inland waterways of Louisiana will cease until the water recedes. The high water has not stopped traffic on the Mississippi River, but has made it very dangerous and slow. Our boats remain operational on the Mississippi in a cautious posture.
The employees of Terral RiverService have worked around the clock to protect our assets and assure we do all we can to serve our customers during this trying time. We ask and are grateful for everyone’s patience as we work through this historical high water problem.