Rock blasting set for section of Mississippi

THEBES, Ill. -- Barge operators along a key stretch of the Mississippi River on Monday braced for months of restricted shipping as crews prepared to begin blasting large rock formations that are impeding navigation on the drought-plagued waterway.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said contractors from Iowa and Ohio could begin demolition of the rock pinnacles in the bed of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis as early as today. They expect to remove enough rock to fill about 50 dump trucks -- possibly more.

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