Editorial: Sun Herald : Tenn-Tom Remains An Economic Engine

It is rare that we would select someone else’s newspaper headline to substitute for our own, but the words over an opinion piece, written for the Sun Herald by U.S. Sen. Roger F. Wicker (R-Miss.), were right on target. The Sun Herald serves Biloxi, Gulfport and South Mississippi.

December marked the 25th anniversary of the completion of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. As Sen. Wicker so accurately said, “The Tenn-Tom may not be a household name across other parts of the country, but Mississippians recognize the waterway for what it has been and what it continues to be: an instrument of economic growth and opportunity.”

In the same manner and for the similar reasons, an Arkansas or Oklahoma congressman could have written an opinion piece about what is commonly referred to as the Arkansas Waterway. The opening of these waterways opened up entire sections of the nation to great economic potential. Both quietly go about doing their jobs, enriching their surroundings in many ways obvious and other ways not so obvious. Both accommodate low-cost, environmentally friendly barge transportation.

The idea to link the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers was a recommendation first made by the French explorer Marquis de Montcalm around 1760. That’s a long time ago, so long ago that the people of the day would never have thought of the word environmental in the same manner we do today. Sen. Wicker tells us that it was more than a century later (in 1874) that “the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant had engineers look into the prospect.” In the years that followed, additional studies were commissioned, eventually leading to congressional approval in 1946.

Says Wicker: “With a strong push from Rep. Jamie Whitten, Sen. John Stennis, and the entire bipartisan Mississippi and Alabama delegations, construction finally began in 1972. Then, on December 12, 1984, the last plug of earth was removed near Amory, allowing the waters of the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers to meet for the first time, nearly 225 years after the idea was first proposed.”

Critics may snicker when water transportation stakeholders suggest that spending stimulus money on water resource projects would create jobs, but the history of the Tenn-Tom stands as a monumental example of that thought. It was the largest project of its kind ever constructed in the United States. “At 234 miles long, the Tenn-Tom construction required 25 million man-hours of labor,” Wicker wrote. It provides waterway access to 17 states, 14 river systems, and over half the nation’s population.

“More important than its sheer size and reputation as an engineering marvel,” wrote Wicker, “the Tenn-tom has become an economic engine that has brought quality jobs and needed revenue to Mississippi and other states in the region.”

About his own state, Wicker wrote, “Northeast Mississippi has benefited greatly from this federal investment.” Drawn by the availability of a skilled workforce and the safe transportation provided by the Tenn-Tom, numerous industries have set up shop along the waterway. Alliant Techsystems (ATK) is expanding its Iuka facility and plans to add 600 jobs over the next eight years. When Severstal invested $1.3 billion in its Columbus plant, it resulted in one of the most advanced steel mills in the country and the creation of more than 400 well-paying jobs. Other steel companies that have followed suit include G&G Steel, DynaSteel, and Steel Development Company, all of which involve new plants or expansions of existing facilities.

During the many years of construction, various predictions were made as to the tonnage that would move on the Tenn-Tom. Some were too high. Some were more realistic. During the years following the opening of the waterway, operators were bombarded with criticism that it was not living up to the promises. What was not promised nor expected, however, was that the waterway would attract nearly three million recreational visitors each year. They come to enjoy world-class fishing and the natural beauty. Wicker said those visitors provide a steady stream of revenue for the marinas, restaurants, campgrounds, resorts, and hotels along the waterway.

We think the economic benefits of the Tenn-Tom have pretty much silenced its critics. But if there are any hangers on, we’d like to direct them to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority analysis that found, “as a result of the Tenn-Tom, our nation has enjoyed an overall economic impact of nearly $43 billion since 1996. During that time more than 29,000 jobs have been directly created because of the waterway, 41 percent of those in Mississippi.

Now that federal financing schemes have reached a level where they pour much larger percentages of water-project financing into environmental aspects of construction, the volume of waterway criticism has lowered a few decibels. But the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. We ask, most seriously, ”Where would our country be today if it were not for the major waterway resource development projects financed by federal, state and local governments, and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund?” That is why a 2010 Water Resources Development Act is so important.

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