Big Bags Build Barriers to Fight Floods


The Missouri Department of Transportation has a new tool to keep water off the roads and motorists safe. Big Bags are large sand bags that unfold like an accordion to create a 15-foot long, 3-foot high by 3-foot wide storage compartment for sand. One system of Big Bags takes the place of 500 sand bags.


“We used them for the first time in the southeast area when flood waters threatened many of our major roads, and this summer, we used them on the west side of Route 65 between Carrollton and Waverly for a two-mile stretch,” said Beth Wright, MoDOT state maintenance en- gineer. “A new product like this can help us save time and keep traffic flowing for commerce and emergency access.”


The Big Bags work much like Lego toys - a chain of dump- ster-sized bags can be attached, filled with sand and built upon to create floodwalls quickly and easily. The bags are made of tightly woven polypropylene with wooden frames that are screwed together. Each system weighs only 50 pounds when empty, but when deployed they and filled, weigh 2,800-3,500 pounds, depending on the moisture content of the sand. The bags are filled with the help of a conveyer system MoDOT crews created during their recent use in the southeast area.


MoDOT was one of the first transportation departments in the Midwest to purchase the Big Bags, and currently has 480 systems available. You can see pictures of the Big Bags on MoDOT’s Flickr site by going to www.flickr.com/ photos/modot/ or watch a video of the placement of Big Bags along Route 65 – a move that kept the route open after a local levee break – at http://youtube/gHjlKEqJQ8M.


A section of Big Bags placed on U.S. 65 helped keep the route from closing completely during the river’s highest crest.


Big Bags are filled with the help of heavy equipment, a less labor-intensive process than filling traditional sandbags.


U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Program Resumes


In early July, the U.S. DOT and its Mexican counterpart signed an agreement to resume long-haul, cross-border trucking between the two countries.


The U.S. DOT is confident that safety concerns are re- solved. Electronic monitoring systems will track Mexican drivers’ hours of service. Mexican drivers must pass safety reviews, drug tests and English and traffic sign-reading tests. In return, Mexico can demand similar testing and safety assurances regarding U.S. drivers.


Many Missouri businesses welcomed the resumption of cross-border trucking, called for in the 1994 NAFTA Agree- ment. In return for reinstating the border crossing pro- gram, Mexico agreed to drop tariffs against $2.4 billion of U.S. manufactured goods and agricultural products. It will now be easier to sell products from Missouri such as pork, personal care items and pet food to our neighbors to the south.


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