Arkansas Waterways Commission

This week’s Movers & Shakers highlights leadership changes and new hires across Arkansas in banking, health care, construction, education, and more. read more >

Bailey was picked to succeed Cassandra Caldwell, who has held the role since 2020. He'll lead efforts to develop, promote and protect waterborne transportation in Arkansas. read more >

Arkansas’ five commercially navigable rivers are vital to businesses across the state and nation. read more >

The grants fund capital improvements and facilitate dredging projects. read more >

The Port of Fort Smith sits on a portion of the river shipping channel that is 26 feet deep, plenty deep for the heaviest of barges that could come th read more >

The Crittenden County Port Authority was awarded $1 million to remove metal dolphins and replace a mooring pylon north of the dock to improve dangerous water flow conditions. read more >

President Joe Biden’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 includes $149 million for the Three Rivers Project, which officials say would prevent an economically devastating shutdown of the 50-year-old McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. read more >

Josh Thompson, Daniel Johnson and Holly Williams have been hired at McGriff Transportation in Little Rock. read more >

Alex Smith has been promoted to senior associate at MCE in Little Rock. read more >

More than $8.5 million of new and pending utility improvement projects are underway in and around Helena-West Helena. Pieces of the infrastructure puzzle are moving into place to enhance local economic prospects as well as industrial recruitment. read more >

Lisa Thompson has been named personnel manager of the Arkansas Department of Career Education in Little Rock. read more >

The Helena-West Helena/Phillips County Port Authority (Helena Harbor) announced Friday that it has been awarded a $180,000 Arkansas Waterways Commission grant to improve water supply lines at the site in anticipation of a new water tower. read more >

The Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Port Authority contracts with Trac-Work Inc. of Little Rock to rehabilitate rail track infrastructure for nearly $106,000. read more >

A dedication for Enviro Tech Chemical Co.’s $15 million plant at the Helena Harbor in 2015 attracted more than 300 people, including Gov. Asa Hutchinson. But behind the scenes, trouble loomed for the Phillips County harbor. read more >

The ports will receive $450,644.42 through the Arkansas Ports, Intermodal and Waterways Grant to support capital improvements. read more >

The National Waterways Conference will take place in Little Rock next year. read more >

Public ports and facilities are eligible for a new grant program of the Arkansas Waterways Commission. read more >

Paul Latture has announced his retirement effective July 1, which is about the time the Port Authority’s new $1.9 million headquarters building is scheduled to open. The new Arkansas River Resource Center occupies 4.2 acres on the banks of the Arkansas River and will also be home to the Little Rock Port Authority Shortline Railroad and the Arkansas Waterways Commission. read more >

Bruce Oakley Inc., the $1 billion revenue transportation company headquartered in North Little Rock, strikes a deal to buy the largest private terminal operator on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. read more >

The state highway department says two bridges across the Arkansas River that were struck by loose barges over the weekend have passed another inspection. read more >