Melvin Price Locks and Dam
Encyclopedia
Melvin Price Locks and Dam is a dam
and two lock
s at river mile
200.78 on the Upper
Mississippi River
, about 17 miles (27.4 km) north of Saint Louis, Missouri. The collocated National Great Rivers Museum, at 1 Lock and Dam Way, East Alton, Illinois
, explains the structure and its engineering.
Construction began in 1979, the main lock opened in 1990, and the full structure was completed in 1994. It replaced the earlier Lock and Dam No. 26
, demolished in 1990, and is the first replacement structure on the Upper Mississippi River
nine-foot navigation project. The main lock is 1200 feet (365.8 m) long and 110 feet (33.5 m) wide; the auxiliary is 600 feet (182.9 m) long and 110 feet (33.5 m) wide. The main lock has a vertical lift gate and a miter gate while the aux. lock has two miter gates. The dam is 1160 feet (353.6 m) long with 9 tainter gate
s, each 110 feet (33.5 m) wide by 42 feet (12.8 m) high.
It is named after Illinois
Congressman Charles Melvin Price
.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
and two lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
s at river mile
River mile
In the United States, a River mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the River kilometer...
200.78 on the Upper
Upper Mississippi River
The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of Cairo, Illinois, United States. From the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, the river flows approximately 2000 kilometers to Cairo, where it is joined by the Ohio River to form the Lower Mississippi...
Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, about 17 miles (27.4 km) north of Saint Louis, Missouri. The collocated National Great Rivers Museum, at 1 Lock and Dam Way, East Alton, Illinois
East Alton, Illinois
East Alton is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,830 at the 2000 census.-Geography:East Alton is located at ....
, explains the structure and its engineering.
Construction began in 1979, the main lock opened in 1990, and the full structure was completed in 1994. It replaced the earlier Lock and Dam No. 26
Lock and Dam No. 26 (historical)
Lock and Dam No. 26 was a lock and dam located near Alton, Illinois on the Upper Mississippi River around river mile 202.5.Opened in 1938, its largest lock was 600 feet long...
, demolished in 1990, and is the first replacement structure on the Upper Mississippi River
Upper Mississippi River
The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of Cairo, Illinois, United States. From the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, the river flows approximately 2000 kilometers to Cairo, where it is joined by the Ohio River to form the Lower Mississippi...
nine-foot navigation project. The main lock is 1200 feet (365.8 m) long and 110 feet (33.5 m) wide; the auxiliary is 600 feet (182.9 m) long and 110 feet (33.5 m) wide. The main lock has a vertical lift gate and a miter gate while the aux. lock has two miter gates. The dam is 1160 feet (353.6 m) long with 9 tainter gate
Tainter gate
The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter....
s, each 110 feet (33.5 m) wide by 42 feet (12.8 m) high.
It is named after Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Congressman Charles Melvin Price
Charles Melvin Price
Charles Melvin Price was a longtime member of the United States House of Representatives. Most notably, he served as the chairman of the United States House Committee on Armed Services between 1975 and 1985. He lost this position at the beginning of the 99th Congress...
.
External links
- USACE Melvin Price Locks and Dam
- HAER - Upper Mississippi River 9 feet (2.7 m) Channel Project, Lock & Dam 26R, Alton vicinity, Madison County, IL
- Hydroacoustic Identification and Sampling of Fish Aggregations in Tailwater Areas (2005 Monitoring Report – Fish Passage Melvin Price Locks and Dam, Alton, Illinois and Lock and Dam 22, Saverton, Missouri)