The Natchez-Adams County Port Authority has shown the importance of keeping up with the times at the facilities south of the Natchez-Vidalia bridge.

Recent shipments by the busy DynaSteel plant in Natchez showed that the port is poised to take on big jobs that require modern equipment and well-trained workers. Huge ductwork for a power plant under construction in the East now is on its way to the construction site from our local port. More of the same big metal structures will be moving out and onto the Mississippi River highway in the weeks to come. Better yet, the DynaSteel plant expects to move into a second project that will require between 25 and 30 barges for moving the equipment out of Natchez and on to the customer next year.

As long-time director of the port Pat Murphy said, the roads, docks and cranes are in place. The right ingredients have been put into the mix. The port will be an important facet of the future economic development of the Natchez and Southwest Mississippi area.

Products coming through the port are changing. As the paper industry experiences a slowdown, other industries are emerging. Cottonseed is one new commodity arriving in bulk to ship out on the ever-increasing numbers of river barges. Sand is another.

Highways will remain the transportation avenue of choice for many industries. Some products are better moved by truck. However, U.S. maritime officials are convinced that the wave of the future is rising on rivers and intercoastal waterways. The Mississippi River is one of the main arteries.

Barge traffic will double or triple in the next 25 years. Our port officials should get support for their efforts to get Natchez a slice of that transportation pie.