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Since the enactment of the Flood Control Act of May 15, 1928, the Commission has served as an advisory and consulting - rather than executive - body responsible to the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army. The general duties of the Commission include the recommendation of policy and work programs, the study of and reporting upon the necessity for modifications or additions to the flood control and navigation project, recommendation upon any matters authorized by law, making inspection trips, and holding public hearings. The work of the Commission is directed by the President of the Commission, acting as its executive officer, and carried out by U.S. Army Engineer Districts at St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans.

During World War II, Mississippi River transportation assumed an even more important role than ever before. The principal commerce on the lower Mississippi River consisted of the upstream movement of gasoline, oil, sulphur, and other products and materials vital to the war effort. In addition, nearly 4,000 Army and Navy craft and other vessels for use in the war moved from inland shipyards down the Mississippi to the sea.

Barges on the Mississippi River, John Vachon, 1939

Without question the Nation's principal river, the Mississippi, is the main stem of a network of inland navigable waterways maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This giant waterways system of some 12,350 miles, includes the Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, and Tennessee Rivers, among others. It extends into the agricultural midwest and the industrial east, making Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans close neighbors of Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Chicago.

The Mississippi River continues to be a powerful form of transportation today as large towboats haul barges filled with steel, ores, grain, sand and gravel, petroleum products, chemicals, and more. 

Today, the history of the Mighty Mississippi is commemorated at National and State parks, museums, interpretive centers, and at numerous events. The Great River Road National Scenic Byway runs through ten scenic states -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

This historic byway of the Mississippi River is one of the oldest, longest and most unique scenic byways in North America, providing some nearly 3,000 miles of the Mississippi River Valley's great history, the blending of cultures, charming river towns. lush forests, magnificent bluffs, and more. The Great River Road follows the Mississippi River from its humble headwaters in the northwoods of Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Great River Road dates back to 1938 when the concept of a transcontinental
Great River Parkway along the Mississippi River was developed by the governors of the ten river states. Wishing to conserve precious resources, it was decided that rather than building a new continuous road, the existing network of rural roads and then-fledgling highways that meandered and crisscrossed the river would become the Great River
Road. The green Pilot's Wheel road sign that marked the route of the new byway decades ago still heralds the byway today.

Along the way, there are eight National Park Service sites including the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in Mississippi that is dedicated to protecting and interpreting the river itself. The other six National Park Service sites along the river are (listed from north to south):

Effigy Mounds National Monument in Harpers Ferry, Iowa
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (aka: The Arch) in St. Louis, Missouri

Arkansas Post National Memorial in Gillett, Arkansas