Corps spokesman Paul Korberger said the situation is deteriorating.
The corps was forced to call off dredging operations along the Mississippi River earlier this month because ice kept clogging equipment, setting the stage for the formation of ice jams that could block traffic. River marine companies have been using towboats to churn the water to keep ice from forming.
"I was up at the Gateway Arch [in St. Louis] the day before Christmas, and 80 percent to 90 percent of the river appeared covered with ice," National Weather Service hydrologist Scott Drummer told the Alton Telegraph.
"Currently, the river is in pretty rough shape in both directions north and south," Tim Miller, a lockmaster at Melvin Price Lock and Dam in Alton told the Belleville News-Democrat.
Parts of the upper Missouri River already have been closed to traffic, and the Coast Guard has issued barge limits for the Mississippi. U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian icebreakers also are battling ice on the Great Lakes to keep shipping lanes open.
Restricted traffic poses a problem for towns both on and off the rivers since that's how much road salt is transported. Transporting salt by land is much more expensive.
Kent Muskopf of the Illinois Department of Transportation said there was concern over whether the state and municipalities have enough salt on hand to get through the rest of the winter.
"It has happened in years past that the salt supply became a concern when the river froze and barges were unable to bring more salt to the area, but currently we think that our supply will be sufficient for the winter," Muskopf said.
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