Mullin: Building Our Way to a Better Future

By Congressman Markwayne Mullin

Throughout the country, our road, waterway, and rail infrastructures are in desperate need of repairs and upgrades.  I want to highlight one of the greatest infrastructure projects in need in our state: the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS).  MKARNS brings in millions of dollars each day to Oklahoma and Arkansas’s economies.  However, the entire system is at risk of failing due to crumbling and outdated infrastructure.

One vital part of MKARNS operations is the Tulsa Port of Catoosa which just celebrated passage of its 50,000th barge last December.  The Port of Catoosa handles 1,000 barges each year, which would otherwise require 60,000 truckloads.  It has more than 60 companies on site employing approximately 4,000 people.

Oklahoma is also home to the Port of Muskogee, which sits where the Arkansas, Verdigris, and Grand Rivers converge.  The Port links Oklahoma with ports on the Ohio, Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers and ultimately, provides access to the Gulf of Mexico.  At the Port of Muskogee, 14 industries have created more than 2,500 jobs for Oklahomans and invested more than $2 billion in facilities.

MKARNS has a tremendous agricultural impact on the United States’ economy.  Earlier this month, I hosted the Department of Agriculture’s Deputy Secretary Steve Censky at the Port of Catoosa to show him firsthand the role Oklahoma plays in our country’s agricultural footprint.  In 2017, 5.9 million tons of agricultural products were transported through MKARNS.  Nearly 80 percent of those products, including soybeans, wheat, and chemical fertilizer, made their way through the Oklahoma portion of the waterway system.

Unfortunately, MKARNS faces the tough reality of potential failure due to the massive amount of unfunded, non-routine maintenance necessary to maintain operations.  Currently, the backlog of critical maintenance on the MKARNS exceeds $150 million.  The United States Army Corps of Engineers says that if they do not complete critical maintenance soon, the system has a 50 percent probability of failing anytime within the next 5 years.  A study completed in 2015 revealed that closing MKARNS would decrease the nation’s business sales by an estimated $4.1 billion annually.

If we lose access to a waterway, there’s no detour around it.  The waterways—and its associated economy—simply stops.  For every one 15-barge tow that travels down the waterway, there would be 1,050 large semi tractor-trailers on the road.

We must invest in our nation’s infrastructure now so that we can continue to build on Oklahoma’s growing workforce and economy.  In the case of MKARNS, Oklahoma’s farming communities and numerous other industries depend on it.  I’m working on behalf of Oklahoma to make sure that our state’s roads, waterways, and railways have the resources they need to continue to benefit our state and its people.


Print pagePDF pageEmail page

*

Copyright © The McCarville Report