Statistical Analysis of Waterway Network Congestion: Causes and Costs
Record Type: UTC

This project uses statistical methods to analyze traffic congestion of the upper Mississippi and the Illinois River, in particular, locks 18, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25 on the upper Mississippi and the Lagrange and Peoria locks on the Illinois River. The main purpose of this project is identifying and evaluating non-structural alternatives (those not requiring construction, but rather procedural or policy changes, for instance, congestion fee, excess lockage time charges, helper boats, switch boats, deck winches and moorings) that might be employed to offer nearby congestion relief. The first objective of this study is to carry out statistical analysis on locking activity at each lock site for each locked vessel for purposes of gaining insight into forces that affect congestion and to examine the possibilities for congestion mitigation through non-structural alternatives. The second objective is to measure the effect of inland waterway congestion on barge transportation rates as well as other costs associated with the predetermined lock chokepoints and develop methodology increasingly appropriate for such measures.
Start date: 2009/3/1
End date: 2010/8/31
Status: Active
Contract/Grant Number: DTRT06-G-0044
Secondary Number: 00042
Total Dollars: 80000
Source Organization: University Transportation Center for Mobility
Date Added: 01/21/2009
Index Terms: Water transportation, Inland water transportation, Port congestion, Locks (Waterways), Lift gates (Locks), Mississippi River, Illinois River, Ships, Vessel operations, Research projects, Statistical analysis,

University Transportation Center for Mobility
http://utcm.tamu.edu
Texas Transportation Institute
Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
USA
Phone: (979) 845-2538
Fax: (979) 845-9761

Tooley, Melissa S
Phone: (979) 845-8545
Fax: (979) 845-9761
Email: m-tooley@tamu.edu

Texas A&M University, College Station
http://agecon.tamu.edu/
Department of Agricultural Economics
2124 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-2124
USA

Wu, Ximing
Phone: (979) 458-1355
Email: xwu@ag.tamu.edu

Fuller, Stephen W.
Phone: (979) 845-1941
Fax: (979) 845-6378
Email: sfuller@tamu.edu