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<br />v <br /> <br /> <br />o <br />(.....\ <br /> <br />N <br />~ <br />eo <br />ell <br /> <br />SYILABUS <br /> <br />Navigation potentialities in the Arkansas-White-Red <br />River Basins are relatively undeveloped at the present time. <br />Existing canalized facilities consist of a system of locks and <br />dams affording a navigable channel 351 miles in length on the <br />Ouachita and Black Rivers, Arkansas and Louisiana, and three locks <br />and dams on the upper White River, Arkansas, operation and mainte- <br />nance of which by the Federal Government have been suspended. <br />Open river navigation on Red River downstream from the mouth of <br />Black River, mile 35.7, together with the improved Ouachita and <br />Black Rivers provide a navigable channel from the lfcississippi and <br />Old Rivers to Camden, Arkansas. The locks and dams on the Ouachita <br />and 'Black Rivers were initially opened to navigation at various <br />dates between 1912 and 1924, and the channel and lock dimensions <br />are of insufficient size to accommodate the modern day high speed <br />tows. The locks and dams on White River were constructed as a <br />part of a project that provided for ten locks and dams. However, <br />further construction work was abandoned after completion of the <br />third lock and dam in 1908. Federal operation and maintenance <br />have been suspended on account of lack of traffic. Improvements <br />of the rivers to maintain open river navigation have been relative- <br />ly minor in recent years. Open river water-borne movements, <br />mostly local, are reported on the Arkansas River downstream of <br />Ft. Smith, Arkansas; on White River in the vicinity of Batesville, <br />Arkansas, and downstream thereof; on Red River downstream of <br />Fulton, Arkansas and on several tributaries of Red River. <br /> <br />Three major navigation improvements have been author- <br />ized for construction in the basins by Congress. These projects <br />consist of the enlargement of navigation facilities on the Ouachita <br />and Black Rivers, Arkansas and Louisiana; the provision of a <br />canalized waterway along the Red River from Shreveport, Louisiana <br />to the mouth; and the provision of navigation facilities on the <br />Verdigris and Arkansas Rivers from Catoosa, Oklahoma (near Tulsa, <br />Oklahoma), to the Mississippi River. Construction has not been <br />initiated on these projects with the exception of some bank pro- <br />tection for emergency purposes on the Arkansas River. <br /> <br />Local interests have requested the construction of all the <br />authorized projects. They have advocated improvements that would <br />extend navigation upstream of the.authorized projects along the <br />Arkansas and Canadian Rivers in the Arkansas River Basin; and along <br />Red River, Cypress Creek, Ouachita River and some of its tributaries <br />in the Red River Basin. Also, improvement of the White River was <br />requested. <br />