Gateways to Commerce: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 9-Foot Channel Project on the Upper Mississippi River

The St. Louis District

The St. Louis District directed the 9-foot channel activities between Clarksville and St. Louis, Missouri. It also served as the headquarters of the Upper Mississippi Valley Division. The Corps of Engineers constructed Locks and Dams Nos. 24, 25, and 26 in the St. Louis District as part of the original 9-Foot Channel Project. Additionally, the Corps built two complexes after the completion of the initial project. Lock No. 27, and the associated Chain of Rocks Canal, were built between 1947 and 1953. Dam No. 27, also known as the Chain of Rocks Dam, was erected in the early 1960s. The St. Louis District was also the first district in which one of the original 9-Foot Channel Project installations was replaced. In 1990, the Corps razed Lock and Dam No. 26 following the construction of Lock and Dam No. 26R, also known as the Melvin Price Lock and Dam.

William McAlpine oversaw the design of only one 9-foot channel structure in the St. Louis District: Lock No. 26. Nevertheless, McAlpine's design work, as manifested in the lock and dam installations in the St. Paul and Rock Island Districts, provided prototypes for those constructed in the St. Louis District. After McAlpine transferred to Washington, D.C., A. Frederick Griffin, a 1914 civil engineering graduate of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, assumed responsibility for design of the principal elements of Dam No. 26, Lock and Dam Nos. 24 and 25, and Lock No. 27. [34]

The St. Louis District oversaw all construction work at the individual installations and provided some minor design services. This work was performed by the district's lock and dam section, established by District Engineer Major William A. Snow in October 1933. Captain William W. Wanamaker headed the section, which initially consisted of four civilian engineers, two draftsmen, and a clerk. Lawrence B. Feagin, a 1922 graduate of Vanderbilt University, served as the section's Senior Engineer. Feagin was responsible for all engineering work at Lock and Dam Nos. 24-26, exclusive of the initial design work performed by the UMVD. [35]

Taken as a whole, the five Upper Mississippi River lock and dam installations in the St. Louis District provide a remarkable portrait of the evolution of river navigation improvement technology from the early 1930s to the present. The significance of these individual installations is enhanced by the important role they played in the rejuvenation of river navigation on the Upper Mississippi River.

William McAlpine, head of the Upper Mississippi Valley Division (UMVD), oversaw the design of Lock No. 26. Upper Guide Wall, Lock No. 26. (John P. Herr, John Herr Photography)

Lock and Dam No. 24

Date of Construction: 1936-1940

Location: Clarksville, Missouri

General Setting: Lock and Dam No. 24 is located 93.5 miles upstream from St. Louis. The river in this location is normally 1,650 feet wide, but during high water it inundates the flood plains of the Illinois shore as far as the levee of the Sny Island Drainage & Levee District, approximately 3,800 feet from the Missouri bank of the river. The natural channel crosses to the Illinois side of the river a short distance above the lock and dam complex, and recrosses to the Missouri side just below the site.

Dam: The 1,340-foot long movable dam has 15 submersible Tainter gates, 25 feet high and 80 feet long. The gates are raised and lowered by individual electric motors, connected by line shafting to link-chain hoists, located beneath the dam service bridge. The piers provide support for both the Tainter gates and the steel deck girder service bridge that extends the length of the dam. The dam system also includes a 2,720-foot submersible dike.

Lock: Lock dimensions are the standard 100 by 600 feet, with the upper gate bay section of an auxiliary lock. Average lift is 15 feet. Unlike Locks Nos. 25 and 26, which are pile-founded structures built atop sand and gravel, Lock No. 24 is founded on durable shale. Because of the presence of a firm foundation material, the lock chamber is not floored and no lateral struts were provided to stabilize the intermediate and river walls.

History/Significance: The submersible, elliptical Tainter gates of Dam No. 24 represent the apex of gate design achieved during the 9-Foot Channel Project. At the time of their construction, the Corps of Engineers believed these gates to be the largest Tainter gates ever constructed. Because of the large size of the Tainter gates, and the relatively ice free conditions of this stretch of river, roller gates were eliminated entirely from the dam design.

General Contractors:
Lock and Dam: Central Engineering Company, Davenport, Iowa. [36]

Miter Gate Construction Plan, January 1936. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District) (click on image for a PDF version)

Construction of Dam No. 24, October 1939. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District)

Lock and Dam No. 25

Date of Construction: 1935-1939

Location: Winfield, Missouri

General Setting: The site is located 241.5 miles above the mouth of the Ohio River. The locks are on the eastern shore of Bradley Island; a roadway and bridge connect Bradley Island with the Missouri mainland. The movable dam extends westward 1,296 feet to an abutment on the west shore of Maple Island. A submersible earth dike, 2,566 feet in length, connects Maple Island to the bluffs along the Illinois shore.

Dam: The 1,296-foot long movable portion of the dam has 3 submersible roller gates, 25 feet high and 100 feet long, and 14 submersible Tainter gates, 25 feet high and 60 feet long.

Lock: The installation consists of a main lock, located against the east bank of Bradley Island, and the upper gate bay of an auxiliary lock. The main lock is the standard 110 by 600 feet. The average lift is 15 feet. Both the lock and the movable dam are pile-founded structures.

History/Significance: The Tainter gates of Dam No. 25 represented a marked advance over those installed at Dam No. 26. The gates were fully submersible to a depth of nearly 8 feet, more than twice that attained at Dam No. 26. Additionally, the streamlined spillway that characterized the Dam No. 26 gates was replaced by a riveted steel sheet that entirely covered the gate's steel framework, protecting it from ice damage and providing a smooth unobstructed surface for the water to pass over the gate in its submerged position.

General Contractors:
Lock and Dam: United Construction Company, Winona, Minnesota [37]

Construction of Lock No. 25, December 1936. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District)

Dam No. 25. (John P. Herr, Herr Photography)

Lock and Dam No. 26

Date of Construction: 1934-1938

Date of Demolition: 1990

Location: Alton, Illinois

General Setting: Lock and Dam No. 26 was located approximately 22 miles above St. Louis, Missouri. The complex was immediately upstream from the Missouri & Illinois Bridge & Belt Railway bridge. The locks were on the eastern side of the river. The movable dam extended westward from the river wall of the twin locks approximately 1,724 feet to the abutment on the Missouri side of the river. Adjoining the abutment at an angle, an earthen dike extended nearly 900 feet to the embankment of the Missouri & Illinois Bridge & Belt Railway.

Dam: The movable portion of the dam, which was 1,725 feet in length, had 3 submersible roller gates, 25 feet high and 80 feet long, and 30 submersible Tainter gates, 30 feet high and 45 feet long.

Lock: The installation included a main lock and an auxiliary lock. The main lock measured 110 by 600 feet; the auxiliary lock was 110 by 360 feet.

History/Significance: Lock and Dam No. 26 was the first 9-foot channel installation designed and built in the St. Louis District. It was also the first 9-foot channel installation that was replaced by a modern structure. Lock and Dam No. 26 suffered severe structural deficiencies and was incapable of accommodating the river's increasing traffic. As a result, the structure was torn down in 1990, and replaced by Lock and Dam 26R.

General Contractors:
Lock: John Griffiths & Son Company, Chicago, Illinois Engineering Construction Company, Delaware
Dam: Engineering Construction Company, Delaware [38]

Dam No. 26. (John P. Herr, John Herr Photography)

Lock and Dam No. 26R
(Melvin Price Lock and Dam)

Date of Construction: 1979-1990

Location: Alton, Illinois

General Setting: Lock and Dam No. 26R is located 2 miles below the site of the old Lock and Dam No. 26, which was razed in 1990.

Dam: The movable dam has 9, open-frame, non-submersible Tainter gates, each 42 feet high and 110 feet long. Individual, electrically-operated, cable hoists are housed in pier-top operating houses. The 1,160-foot long movable dam is supported by steel H-piles driven to bedrock.

Lock: The installation has twin locks. The main lock is 110 by 1,200 feet; the auxiliary lock is 110 by 600 feet. The main lock is U-shaped, and is supported on steel H-piles. The maximum lift is 24 feet.

History/Significance: Lock and Dam No. 26R constitutes the first replacement of an original installation of the 9-Foot Channel Project. The basic components of the complex are similar to those built in the 1930s. The most striking difference is the immense size of the new structure, which dwarfs the older installations. But the significance of the new installation is not limited to its size. Throughout its design and construction, the Corps of Engineers and various contractors engaged in an extensive program of computer-assisted design, testing, and evaluation on Lock and Dam No. 26R to create a structure that represents the present state-of-the-art in river navigation control works.

General Contractors:
Lock: Joint venture of S.J. Groves & Sons Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
     Guy F. Atkinson Company, South San Francisco, California; and
     Dillingham Corporation, Pleasanton, California
Dam: Joint venture of S.J. Groves & Sons, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
     Guy F. Atkinson Company, South San Francisco, California;
     Ball Construction Company; and
     Black & Veatch. [39]

Dam No. 26R. (John R. Herr, John Herr Photography)

Construction Drawing for Lock and Dam No. 26R, ca. 1980. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District) (click on image for a PDF version)

Lock and Dam No. 27

Date of Construction: 1947-1964

Location: Locks: Granite City, Illinois
Dam: St. Louis, Missouri

General Setting: The locks are located near the southern end of the 8.4-mile long Chain of Rocks Canal, and 185.5 miles above the mouth of the Ohio River. The dam is located on the Mississippi River, 190.2 miles above the mouth of the Ohio River, immediately downstream from Homer Dike, Intake Tower Nos. 1 and 2 of the St. Louis Water Works, the Chain of Rocks Highway Bridge, and the Interstate Highway 270 Bridge.

Dam: Dam No. 27, also known as the Chain of Rocks Dam, is a non-movable, low water dam, approximately 2,500 feet long, which extends entirely across the river.

Lock: The installation includes twin locks. The main lock chamber is 110 by 1,200 feet; the auxiliary lock chamber measures 110 by 600 feet. Both locks were excavated to bedrock, which serves as the lock chamber floors.

History/Significance: Lock No. 27 represents the first major addition to the 9-Foot Channel Project. The locks are located at the lower end of the Chain of Rocks Canal, which was constructed to allow river traffic to bypass the shallows located at the Chain of Rocks Reach. Construction of the canal began in July 1949, and the canal and locks were opened in February 1953. The main lock is 1,200 feet long, twice the length of the locks constructed as part of the 9-Foot Channel Project of the 1930s. The longer length eliminated the need to break apart long strings of barges. Dam No. 27 was designed to provide additional water depth at the lower gate sills of Lock No. 26. Constructed between 1959 and 1964, the dam has virtually no impact upon operations within the Chain of Rocks Canal or at Locks No. 27.

General Contractors:
Lock: River Construction Corporation
Dam: unknown [40]

Dam No. 27, also known as the Chain of Rocks Dam, is a fixed, low water dam. The Chain of Rocks Bridge and St. Louis Water Department Intake are in the background. (John P. Herr, John Herr Photography)

Construction of Main Lock No. 27, June 1950. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District)