LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Three Mississippi River ports in Arkansas will be dredged this year as part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to open channels that are often clogged by silt and sediment from upstream.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports two ports in Helena-West Helena and one in Osceola are among 10 in several states set for work this summer and fall. The Corps will spend about $7.4 million for the project that includes ports in Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.

Jim Pogue, the Corps’ spokesman in Memphis, says the project is one of the largest undertakings of dredging by the Corps in years.

Pogue says waters move slower when the river level is low, allowing the silt to settle and accumulate at entrances to harbors. It hinders barge traffic from entering or leaving.