A major river commerce group endorsed a plan Tuesday to increase container-on-barge traffic on the Mississippi River. The Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals Association supports shipping goods in containers on barges up and down the Mississippi River. That’s seen as an alternative to using trucks or rail. The group made the announcement at its annual conference in St. Louis. The IRPTA is a trade association that promotes inland rivers as transportation systems. They're one of a number of groups and companies working to bring container-on-barge shipping back to the Mississippi River. The effort is a major initiative of the Mississippi River Cities and Town Initiative, a group of river town mayors who advocate for the waterway’s economic and environmental well-being. The organization's director Colin Wellenkamp says the effort could lead to infrastructure investments for river town ports – and more demand for jobs. Since barges can hold multiple containers full of goods, he also said the
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