To Continue or Halt the Tenn-Tom Waterway? Information To Help the Congress Resolve the Controversy

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway has had a long, troubled history. Congress authorized the project in 1946, but construction did not start until 1971. The approved project consists of the largest waterway currently under construction by the Corps of Engineers. The navigation portion of the waterway is scheduled for completion in 1986 and the overall project in 1988 with an estimated cost of $1.96 billion. A 114-mile section of the waterway was opened for limited traffic in 1979. Proponents of the waterway claim that it will benefit the entire nation by providing a more efficient and economical transportation route from the midcontinent and Eastern United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Opponents claim that the project is not economically and environmentally viable. Two lawsuits to halt construction have been brought against the government. The court ruled against the plaintiffs in both cases. Ten years after construction started, the waterway is 53-percent complete and expenditures continue at approximately $20 million a month.