MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was on track to finish revetment work on the Mississippi River by this past Monday afternoon, at a river marker called Fair Landing south of Memphis.

The river repairs were causing consternation with grower groups concerned about the possibility of large backups at the location. "They think they’ll have it done Monday," said Robert Anderson, a spokesman for the Corps, Friday afternoon.

Last Thursday Anderson noted backup conditions on the river were improving, with delays of barge traffic towing goods such as grain of six hours as of the previous Tuesday evening. Towing begins at sundown. The queue on Nov. 12 was cleared by 10:35 p.m. Anderson said the traffic backup was about five miles.

"The queue is clearing out quicker each night," he said. "The bend is very narrow; this is why this is causing so much trouble. This just came at a time when farmers were shipping a bumper crop. We want to make sure we minimize the disruption to our farmers."

Anderson explained the Corps was laying down an extraordinary amount of mat on the river. Mat are large pieces of reinforced concrete strung together and placed along riverbanks in order to keep the river from changing course. The river will change course naturally, but such occurrences tend to be extremely inconvenient for shippers.

According to the Corps, work such as what’s being done at the Fair Landing marker are necessary and can only be done at certain times of the year, because of changing water levels. Work that gets put off too long has to be postponed until the following year when water levels go down again.

The National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA) was upset about the work and stated it was worried there could be massive delays for barge traffic.

"The main issue we were bothered by was the lack of communication on the part of the Corps," said Ethan Matthews, a transportation policy expert at NCGA. "There was very little advance notice."

He added the Corps heard from NCGA and others about the closure and then promised to clear the queue each morning before starting repair work. He said the Corps seems to have honored that commitment, but "I think the issue still remains that there was a lack of communication."

He said there is also some concern that unusually cold weather might slow barge traffic further.

According to Anderson, Mississippi River repair work at Sarah Island later this month could cause more delays for shippers. This site has large scour areas, he said, where the current has compromised the bank. That work is scheduled to begin on Nov. 25 or 26.

Work there "could impact barge traffic," he said; however, barge traffic in that area at that time is anticipated to be relatively light. Sarah Island is located in Mississippi, about 35 miles north of Greenville and about 130 miles south of Fair Landing.