By KPR
Frankfort, KY – Freight transportation by inland waterways appears likely to increase dramatically and that could bode well for Kentucky. So says the Director of the Center for Transportation at the University of Kentucky Joe Crabtree. He says it's now more fuel efficient, safer and environmentally friendly to move goods by boat and Kentucky has more than 12-hundred miles of navigable waterways.
"Kentucky is in a strategic location, both geographically and in terms of our miles of inland navigable riverway. Kentucky, depending on who you listen to, is anywhere from first to fourth in the US in inland navigable riverways."
Crabtree says the widening of the Panama Canal is going to send more ships into the Gulf of Mexico and Kentucky should prepare itself for additional barge traffic.