THEBES, Ill. (AP) — Two Illinois congressmen on Monday inspected urgent efforts to clear Mississippi River bedrock that has crimped shipping on a crucial stretch of the waterway and said they're closely monitoring the situation.

Sen. Dick Durbin and newly elected Rep. Bill Enyart, both Democrats, were briefed by the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard about the work before touring by boat the site near Thebes in southern Illinois that has grown especially worrisome to the barge industry.

Durbin said "Mother Nature has dealt us a difficult hand" with the lingering, months-long drought that has dropped river levels. Enyart said he's "deeply concerned" about the economic implications of the lower depths of the Mississippi.