Army Corps To Offer Tours Of Towboat

One of the biggest working towboats on the Mississippi River will be open to the public next month, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The open house, on the Corps' Motor Vessel Mississippi, will be Aug. 8 from 5 to 8 p.m. The public will be able to take self-guided tours on the boat at Lambert's Landing, at the foot of Jackson Street. One of the towboat's main purposes is to move barges. It was built in 1993 and is 241 feet long, 58 feet wide and five stories high.Visitors should bring photo identification and be able to vouch for members of their party, such as children, who do not have a photo ID. Visitors also should leave backpacks and large purses in their vehicles. Those with small purses and handbags on board will be subject to search by police officers. The towboat will be at Lambert's Landing for an annual low-water inspection of the Corps' three districts on the upper Mississippi River.