Tracy Zea
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22 Jan 2026
Inland Waterways Infrastructure: The Time is Now
As Americans do each year, with 2026 just the same, we are hopeful for a more promising year, with better outcomes and calmer seas. But for construction of the Nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, there is a strong sense of urgency like never before.Since 1987, just 10 projects to modernize or expand locks on the inland waterways system have been completed, with seven of them started and finished between 1987 and 1997 at an average cost overrun of 33%.Since 2008…
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10 Jun 2025
Infrastructure: USACE Funding Better Than Zero, But a Missed Opportunity
On May 15, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Work Plan that allocated funds from the FY25 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act. That bill provided funding for the Corps’ Civil Works mission, typically funded in the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill.The Corps’ FY25 Work Plan provided nearly $200 million for inland waterways construction projects…
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06 Mar 2025
INLAND Insights: Time to Remedy Inefficiency in Executive Order 12322
The members of Waterways Council, Inc., (WCI) the national organization that advocates for a modern, efficient, well-maintained system of ports and inland waterways, recently met in Washington, DC with Members of the 119th Congress to discuss WCI key and related priorities for 2025. An ancillary issue that WCI is looking to address is the removal or modification of an antiquated 1980s Executive Order…
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25 Mar 2024
Demopolis: A Cautionary Tale for Increased Infrastructure Investment
Demopolis Lock—which suffered a recent catastrophic failure—is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system.The nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, largely constructed in the 1930s, has seen modernization and rehabilitation across the system, albeit very slowly.
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16 Mar 2023
WCI: 20 Years of Success and Still More to Come
Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) recently held its annual Washington, D.C. meetings that included a Capitol Hill fly-in. WCI members from across the country participated in 100 meetings with House and Senate members to advocate for the nation’s inland waterways to ensure its reliability by modernizing its infrastructure.Meeting with stalwart champions of the inland waterways as well as newly sworn in…
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08 Aug 2022
US Inland Waterway Infrastructure: Riding a Good News Wave
The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The…
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12 Jan 2021
WRDA 2020 Winds its Way to Passage
In early October, Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reported in its newsletter Capitol Currents that the future of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 hung in the balance, with many unknowns for its chances of being signed into law during the Lame Duck session of Congress that just concluded in late December.But despite twists and turns and a roller coaster ride, WRDA was, indeed, passed…
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18 Dec 2020
US Inland Waterways: Cheer the Year!
As we head toward the end of a very chaotic and COVID-filled 2020 and try to reflect on the positives, the inland waterways had a pretty good year overall. Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), whose members depend on a modern, efficient inland waterways system, offers this look back, with hopes ahead for the passage of a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2020 with our construction cost-share adjustment priority in the lame duck session of Congress.A disappointing FY21 budget requestIn February…
