Proceedings of the 2019 Mississippi Water Resources Conference

Year: 2019 Authors: Puryear S.

In order to find a good beginning point for this study, multimodal freight plans in neighboring states and in Mississippi have been reviewed to determine the level of knowledge about Mississippi's inland waterway assets from a state agency's perspective. In order to assess the accessibility for each port, a quantification method has been investigated and determined. Data and information for calculation are collected and processed currently. An exercise of building a multimodal network has been finished. Network data and impedance evaluation methods have also been investigated and determined. Future network configuration measures have been investigated and determined, including network centrality measurements.
In Mississippi, different entities have conducted studies on port development and its economic impact. It is clear that the port authorities need well established marketing strategies and plans to expand market and request funding. Some reports collected profile data about each port, although in different level of details. Important information about port capacity, throughput, efficiency, and commodity type are lacking. UAVs and portable scanning equipment are being coupled to provide accurate scans and input to simulations of inland port infrastructure and operations.
The ports included in this study are: Yellow Creek, Port Itawamba, Port Amory, Port Aberdeen, Lucas Port at West Point, Lowndes Co. Port, Rosedale Port, Greenville Port, Vicksburg Port, Claiborne Co. Port, Natchez-Adams Co. Port, Yazoo County Port, Bienville Port, Gulfport Port, and Pascagoula Port.