The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, will host an open house aboard the Corps of Engineers’ M/V (Motor Vessel) Mississippi, which will be docked at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam in Alton, Ill., from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, August 5.
The public is invited to take a self-guided tour of the Corps’ largest diesel towboat and flagship to the Mississippi River Commission. The M/V Mississippi is 241 feet long, 58 feet wide and five stories high. Three 2100-hp diesel engines power the vessel.
The vessel’s primary mission is to move barges in support of bank stabilization work on the lower Mississippi River. However, each spring and late summer, the Mississippi River Commission conducts a series of public meetings aboard the vessel, with the late summer trip including the St. Louis area. The Commission, established by Congress in 1879, holds the meetings to maintain a dialogue, and to exchange viewpoints and ideas with its stakeholders and the public. The St. Louis District will host its public meeting August 18 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam.
The public is invited to attend the open house and will have the opportunity to talk with Corps of Engineers’ representatives, as well as the motor vessel’s crew. Melvin Price Locks and Dam is located at #1 Lock and Dam Way off of Hwy 143 in Alton, Illinois.
For more information, or if you require special accommodations, contact the National Great Rivers Museum at 618-462-6979.
