Mississippi River Reopens to Barges after Gustav

The entire Mississippi River, the most important commercial waterway, has reopened to barge traffic after being closed near due to Hurricane Gustav, the Coast Guard said.  More than 300 miles of the commercial waterway, stretching from to the , was closed following the landfall of the Category 2 hurricane on Monday.

Reports said major grain companies such as Cargill Inc, Archer Daniels Midland Co and Bunge Ltd are still awaiting electricity to be restored to their grain export terminals on the lower Mississippi River in .