MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say low water levels that are restricting shipping traffic, forcing harbor closures and causing towboats and barges to run aground on the Mississippi River are expected to continue into October.

Major Gen. John W. Peabody, commander of the Corps' Mississippi Valley Division, said Tuesday that five harbors in Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi are closed and several others have limited access due to low water levels along the nation's most vital inland waterway.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard says more than 100 towboats and barges remain backed up near Greenville, Miss. The Coast Guard opened an 11-mile stretch of river that had been closed near Greenville, replacing it with a five-mile zone where only light vessels can pass.