Moving Freight on Inland Waterways takes Public, Private Sector Collaboration Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. June 10, 2026 Image courtesy FreightWeekSTL As weather extremes, aging infrastructure and growing freight demands place increasing pressure on the U.S. inland waterway system, industry and government leaders say one factor is indispensable to maintaining reliable navigation: collaboration. That was the central message from a panel discussion during FreightWeekSTL 2026 , where representatives from American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discussed how coordinated planning, shared data and targeted infrastructure investments are helping keep commerce moving on the Mississippi River. The session, Behind the Barges: How the Mississippi River Stays Open for Commerce, featured Randy Chamness, Vice President of Vessel Operations for ACBL , and Bradley Krischel of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Louis District. Chamness opened by underscoring the scale of ACBL’s operations and the strategic importance of the St. Louis region. With a fleet of approximately 3,200 barges and more than 2,000 employees, about 70% of the company’s vessels transit through the area, making it one of the most critical hubs in the inland transportation network. For the Corps of Engineers, maintaining navigation on roughly 300 miles of the Mississippi River in the bi-state St. Louis region requires constant vigilance. Krischel noted that preserving the federally authorized 9-foot-deep, 300-foot-wide navigation channel is an ongoing engineering challenge because of the river’s constantly shifting nature. “The river’s very dynamic; it’s always changing,” Krischel said. “It takes constant monitoring and a proactive approach to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently through the region.” Randy Chamness, Vice President of Vessel Operations for ACBL That work extends beyond dredging to include maintenance of river training structures, bank stabilization thr