Brief: America's Working Waterways — Post V: The Illinois Waterway, Chicago's Canal Connection, and the Kaskaskia River
So what: When the Illinois River slows down, the farmer's bid moves before the barge does.
Key takeaways
The Illinois runs 336 miles, Chicago to Grafton, through eight locks. At the top, the Chicago canals tie the Great Lakes to the Mississippi basin. That end is industrial now, and grain through it is rare.
Nine feet is the authorized channel, not a loading order. A lot of Illinois grain leaves at 8 feet 6 inches. Six inches light is about 100 tons per barge.
Seven chambers are 600 feet long and date to the 1930s. A tow of 15 barges does not fit, so every trip double locks: two lockages plus rebuilding the tow. LaGrange waits averaged just under eight hours in 2017. New chambers 1,200 feet long would take a tow in one pass.
Peoria is the center of the waterway. Elevators, fertilizer docks, and fleets share the harbor, and harbor boats set barges under the spout and build the tows. Peoria Lake above the lock has lost about 68 percent of its 1903 capacity to sediment. If the harbor cannot take a loaded barge, the country bid already shows it.
An Illinois load is only as good as the river below it. Low water at St. Louis cuts Illinois drafts even when the Illinois looks fine.
The river runs through some of the best corn and soybean ground in the world. The river bid is the Gulf price minus barge freight, so every delay or light load comes out of the farmer's price.
The Kaskaskia has one lock. If Costello closes, the river closes. It was shut 87 days in 2019.
GG50 view (opinion): LaGrange is the right lock to fix first. It has design money, not construction money.
Who should read the full piece
Elevator managers and merchandisers loading on the Illinois or Kaskaskia. Grain buyers bidding against the river. Fertilizer suppliers chasing the same barges. Readers outside the US will see how one inland corridor feeds the Gulf export price.
Next up is the water that has to carry this grain after Grafton: the Middle Mississippi, the St. Louis harbor rebuild, and why a clean Illinois load can still get expensive before it sees salt water.
Read the full post · https://www.grainguyfifty.com/post/america-s-working-waterways-post-v-the-illinois-waterway-chicago-s-canal-connection-and-the-kas
See Glossary: https://www.grainguyfifty.com/post/the-gg50-america-s-working-waterway-vocabulary-glossary-of-terms
Thank you for reading. Feedback from elevators, processors, terminals, and anyone who watches how grain gets to market helps shape this series.
Regards,
Grain Guy Fifty
Comments