Navigation was the Corps of Engineers' earliest Civil Works mission, dating to Federal laws in the 1820’s authorizing and funding the Corps to improve safety on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers by removing snags, debris, and other obstructions. These rivers and the coastal ports were the primary routes of commerce for the new nation.
This authorization set the nation on a course for the next two centuries of dredging channels, building locks and dams, wing dikes and other structures to create an inland waterways transportation system for the movement of goods on the nation’s rivers. The system includes rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Columbia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Monongahela and Kanawha. Other smaller rivers are also included along with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW).
Today the inland waterway transportation system provides an important alternative to truck and rail. It is a highly cost-effective and energy efficient means for transporting commercial goods, especially major bulk commodities like coal, grain, and petroleum products. This system is also a key component of state and local economies and job creation efforts and is essential in order to maintain economic competitiveness.