New Bourbon Port Facing Going Up

By Mark Evans

mevans@stegenherald.com

With Mississippi River water levels finally low enough, J.S. Alberici Construction Company of St. Louis has been able to attach protective sheeting to the New Bourbon Regional Port Authority dock.

Alberici had the lowest of five bids on March 8, 2019, when five bids for the job were opened. The firm bid $474,590.

The sheeting will keep barges from damaging the dock’s  wooden piers.

Alberici had previously fabricated the steel sheeting and stored it on site, waiting in vain the rest of 2019 and most of 2020 for the river to reach about 14 feet. It came close to reaching that, but always shot back up before getting low enough.

In recent days, the river has been as low as it has been in years, actually dropping below five feet briefly on Saturday. It was projected to drop to four feet by this Sunday.

The port, located on New Bourbon Port Road, is overseen by the New Bourbon Regional Port Authority, with representatives from Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties. It also owns the Ste. Genevieve-Modoc Ferry,