Training the Missouri: History of the Missouri Riverbank Stabilization and Navigation Project from Rulo, Nebraska to Its Mouth
Kari A. Bigham, PE, PhD
USACE Kansas City District
Kansas City, Missouri
Following the Louisiana Purchase and the Great Expedition of Lewis and Clark in the early 1800s, the Missouri River showed promise in providing an avenue to move goods and people into the West. However, traveling the Missouri at that time came with many risks, from travel delays to wrecks, due to its ever-shifting channel, inconsistent depths, and log snags. While de-snagging operations were put into place early on by the federal government, it wasn’t until 1876 when experimental riverbank protection and channel contraction work began to train the river to eliminate navigation hazards. Just over a century later, the project was officially completed, being delayed by several factors including, but not limited to, the overall scale of the project, the evolving needs and expectations of the American people, and the World Wars. This presentation will provide a timeline summary of the river engineering efforts put into place based on its initial goal to provide a consistent navigation channel during the navigation season. Half of a century later, however, the need to reduce flood peaks on the Missouri also became a major priority of the project, causing a shift in how the project was being implemented. Engineering efforts to be reviewed include channel contraction and bank stabilization work, as well as the installation of dams to control flows. This presentation will focus on the lower 500 miles of the Missouri under the USACE Kansas City District’s jurisdiction, stretching from Rulo, Nebraska to its mouth near St. Louis, Missouri.
About Kari A. Bigham, PE, PhD
Kari Bigham has worked on rivers of the Great Plains over the last 15 years. Her work has ranged from designing restoration projects in consulting engineering, to monitoring restoration technique effectiveness and developing adaptive management strategies, as part of her graduate studies at Kansas State University. Last year, Kari began working for the US Army Corps of Engineers in the River Engineering and Restoration section of the Kansas City District. At USACE, Kari works on a broad range of river projects, including the 150-year-old Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, as well as many other river restoration and reservoir sustainability projects within the Great Plains and Ozarks region. In addition, Kari, her husband, Dan, and their two kids own and operate a corn and soybean farm near the capitol of Kansas along the banks of the mighty Kaw River. Kari plans to spend the remainder of her career attempting to understand and, hopefully, improve the rivers found across the heartland of the United States.