2022 558mw Yusufeli Dam on Coruh River in Turkey

(Satellite)

2:37 video [I looked for the link that I forgot, but I could not find it. Bummer!], timelapse from three different views
"The dam is an arch-gravity type, standing at an impressive height of approximately 275 meters (902 feet) and spanning a width of 319 meters (1,047 feet) at its crest. It has a storage capacity of around 2.2 billion cubic meters (1.78 million acre-feet) and a power generation capacity of 558 megawatts."

Another construction video 

0:40 video

The dam is named after one of the villages that it will submerge.

TheAtlantic, 1 of several photos of the villiage being swallowed by the reservoir. Apr 4, 2023

Photo courtesy of Limak via enr

limak

ForeignPolicy
"Residents of Yusufeli stand atop a hill to look down on the drowned remnants of their town on April 1 [2023]."
"One of 13 planned or built hydropower facilities on the Coruh, this one has uprooted approximately 7,400 residents in Yusufeli alone, locals say, as well as more people in surrounding villages. It is also uprooting the valley’s unique biodiversity—it’s home to 70 endemic plant species—and both residents and environmentalists have tried for years to fight the project, to no avail."

"The project comprises a 275m tall double curvature concrete arch dam and a power plant equipped with three 186MW vertical-axis Francis turbine units. Each turbine unit is designed to operate at a rated head of 191m and a rated discharge of 107m3/sec....The other components of the project include the main power transformers, a 380kV switchyard, along measuring and protection equipment." [WaterPowerMagazine]

10:26 video

1907 Elizabeth (#3) Locks and Dam on Monongahela River near Belle Vernon, PA

(Satellite)

USACE, Pittsburgh District posted three photos with the comment:

An aerial view of Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 at Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. 

Elizabeth Locks and Dam is one of nine navigation structures on the Monongahela River which provide navigation from Fairmont, West Virginia, to downtown Pittsburgh. 

The facility is located at River Mile 23.8. Construction on Elizabeth Locks and Dam began in 1905 and was completed in 1907, at which point it became operational.

📸 by Michel Sauret

Mark Novak: 9 dams on the river .. none hydroelectric?..

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District: Mark Novak hey Mark!

Here's a story we wrote recently about the hydropower plants at our various dams on the river and at reservoirs:

https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/.../News.../Article/3414136

Todd Rygelski: When is this scheduled for demolition?

Michel Sauret: Todd Rygelski the schedule hasn't been set yet, but it's planned for sometime in 2024.

[The Braddock (#2) Dam is being made bigger so this one will no longer be needed.]

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Comments on the above post

USACE, Pittsburgh Division posted four photos with the comment:

🚢🌉 Elizabeth Locks and Dam: Over a Century of Navigational Service

🔔 Attention Pittsburgh District! We are turning a chapter of history! The iconic Elizabeth Locks and Dam, a centennial beacon of navigation and economic drive since 1907, is gearing up for a dramatic conclusion next summer. 🏗️🌅

📆 Want more information? Come see us tomorrow, Dec. 12, 7-9 PM at the Elizabeth Borough Firehall. Join us to delve into the transformative journey of this historic landmark. 🗓️📍

👷‍♂️ Hear firsthand from our dedicated team about the intricate art of maintaining one of the nation's oldest locks! 🛠️🔧

💣 Witness plans for an explosive finale, marking a bold leap into modern navigation advancements. We're not just demolishing a structure; we're paving the way for a more efficient, 30-mile navigable waterway! 🌐🛳️

🌳 We're not just leaving a legacy behind; we're transforming it. Expect innovative fish reefs and riverbank stabilization efforts, ensuring our river's health and vibrancy for years to come! 🌱🐟

👋 Say farewell to the old and welcome the new era of navigation. Be part of this historic 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District

🔗 Learn more about the history behind Elizabeth Locks and Dam and its people here: https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/.../News.../Article/3607090

Joe McNeil: Let’s not forget totally decimating the fish population that lives there 🤦🏻‍♂️

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District: Joe McNeil I think you've missed the fact we just constructed 73 stone fish reefs in the Monongahela River.

https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/.../we-will-rock-you.../

Joe McNeil: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District I’ve read everything you guys have planned. But I think you’re missing the fact that the dam created the necessary levels of dissolved oxygen required during the summer for the insane amount of thriving fish there. That is their home and it’s about to be blown into oblivion. That river temp hits 85 degrees in the summer & feels like bath water. Those reefs will attract some fish of course, but it will never be even close to the same. Now people are just going to have to watch out for their lower units/props. Lol

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Mark Dodd commented on the above post
I was the last of 5 generations of our family to live in the village of Lock Three, named after the original wooden locks. This is a picture of the original wooden lock and dam.

Jacob H. Ford Photography posted

Here's another shot I took late morning from the Elizabeth Bridge, standing closer to the West Elizabeth side of the river from the bridge. Since my last shot with a towboat and barge was in black and white, I decided to keep this shot here in color. In this shot I captured a towboat and barges along Riverlift Industries in West Elizabeth, and another one farther up the river on the other side of Lock #3. What I love about this shot in addition to the fog on the river is the placement of the towboats and barges, while I intentionally included some of the cranes and other equipment for a more industrial look to this composition. The lowly fog in the valley also gives this shot an interesting look as well, with the thin layer of fog right over the water's surface giving the water an almost "silky" look. I may post a black and white version of this specific shot later this week, but for now, here's the color version. Enjoy!

Photo taken: March 2, 2024

Jeff Warner: it's going to be wild to not have that lock and dam after July [2024].

[It looks like at least some coal is still being mined.]

Drydock, Dam, Locks and Trunnion Bridge in Port Carling, ON

Big Lock and Drydock: (Satellite)

Dam and Little Lock: (Satellite)

Muskoka Steamships & Discovery Centre posted five photos with the comment: "The RMS Segwun and Wenonah II will be heading to dry dock at the Port Carling locks this Fall! The ships will undergo inspections and important maintenance during this time before heading back to Gravenhurst for the winter. Get your cruise tickets now to enjoy a ride on these beautiful ships at www.realmuskoka.com. Check out the photos from our previous dry dock that took place in 2016."

Janey Anderson shared with the comment: "Love to get up to Port Carling this winter to see these beautiful boats in drydock!!"

Bill Thomson: I worked that drydock painting the inside of a sewage tank isn't alot of fun.

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Dean Oldham commented on the above post

The Segwun is a steam powered cruise ship. It is nice to see the owners are taking such good care of it. Doug Ramey provided a couple of photos in the comments on the above post.

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When I first looked for a drydock, I could not find one. Instead I found a big (near the top) and a little (near the bottom by the dam) lock.

Satellite

Using the fourth photo above, I confirmed that the big lock is used as the drydock. 

Street View, Nov 2022

4 of 17 photos posted by Janey Anderson with the comment: "The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) SEGWUN is the oldest operating steam driven vessel in North America, built in 1887 in Clyde, Scotland as the "Nipissing" to cruise the Muskoka Lakes."

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Janey Anderson posted

BOW WOW

Took a little drive out to Port Carling today to experience the amazing Autumn colours and see the RMS SEGWUN in lock/dry dock.

Oct. 21/23 

The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) SEGWUN is the oldest operating steam driven vessel in North America, built in 1887 in Clyde, Scotland as the "Nipissing" to cruise the Muskoka Lakes.

Ed Wilson: Best engineering job I ever had.

I engineered on her for a season to get some steam time. Two compound engines and a scotch boiler that was still coal fired.

Bill Jr Salton posted two photos with the comment: "Every 5 years the old Segwun, and her replica sister Wennonah II arrive in Port Carling, ON for drydocking ahead of their winter slumber. The lock is drained and becomes a makeshift drydock for the necessary inspections and/or repairs. So great to finally see this in person! Note, the lock is close enough to the main road lift bridge that the drone camera wouldnt fit the entire boat in one frame from that level, so 2 photos were stitched together to show a full vessel 😉"

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Note that the bridge from which the above street view was taken is a trunnion drawbridge that pivots on the south side.

Peter G, Aug 2023

The elevation difference between Lakes Rosseau and Muskoka is not big, but it was big enough to create a rapids on the Indian River that hindered navigation between the two lakes. So in 1871, a lock was built. After WWI, there were more than 6,000 vessels a year and wait times over an hour. So the little locks were built to handle pleasure boats and relieve the pressure on the big lock. Today, electric gates allow boats to pass through in just 10 minutes so the little locks "have receded into the background." [MuskokaRegion] Why is "little locks" plural? I see three gates in this street view. But the lift height is not enough to justify a double lock. Looking at the satellite image, I see two boats in the little lock and four in the big lock.

Street View, Sep 2018

The MuskokaRegion article makes a big deal that the little lock wasn't built until after WWI. But this source indicates that it was built when the dam was built.

The Canadian Canal Society web site shows the dimensions as follows:

Small Lock (at the dam) built 1873, 83' x 12' (25.3 m x 3.7 m). GPS 45E07'07.59"N 79E34'35.17"W
Large Lock (On a separate channel) built 1874, 175' x 33' (53.3 m x 10 m). GPS 45E07'12.33"N 79E34'37.28"W
Mnimum depth for both locks is 8.5' (2.6 m) and lift is 4' (1.2 m).

[AmericanCanalSociety]

2:35 video @ 0:58

This source agrees that both the big and little locks were constructed at the same time. Work began in 1869.

Boaters have to pay a fee to use the big lock, but they can lock themselves through the small lock. [muskoka]

One reason it did not occur to me that the big lock was the drydock until I studied the photos was that a drydock normally has a nearby building for machine and fabrication shops and supplies. And they have concrete surfaced sides that can hold cranes. Now I realize that any lock that has bulkheads so that it can be dewatered for maintenance can be used as a drydock if you don't need support facilities.

Lime Silica Elevator on Calumet Lake and Soil Stabilization

(3D Satellite)

"The southern elevator is packed with lime silica, a component of cement, that a company called Mt. Carmel Stabilization brings in by barge." [Chicago Tribune, Aug 27, 2023, p17]

The elevator on the other side of the slip is abandoned.

Street View, Jul 2018

If you like videos where every platitude, especially customer satisfaction, is said more than once by different talking heads, then this 3:54 video (source) is for you. Fortunately, they did sneak in some interesting video clips between the heads. All of the screenshots below are from this video.

"We can walk into a site that at the start of the day you couldn't hardly walk across in your own boots and at the end of the day they can drive a semi on it and not make a dent in it." [@ 2:52]

Screenshot

They design and build their own spreaders and have 60 of them. Since the focus of the video is platitudes instead of information, it doesn't mention what they are spreading. I think they spread lime silica or cement depending on the soil condition. They do mention that they have 10 storage facilities. I think they said that their total storage is 500,000 tons. (I'm not going to suffer through that video again to confirm that number. BTW, if you want an example of a video that is all information and no platitudes, check out this one.)

Screenshot

Screenshot

Screenshot

mtcsg_timeline
In 1995, they stabilized millions of square yards for the New Denver International Airport.

The next day I came across this alternate solution for soft soils.

Tensar Americas posted
When you build with Tensar InterAx geogrid, you can count on a higher-performing and longer-lasting solution for trafficked surfaces. Learn more about this proven solution and never sacrifice cost for performance again!
 https://info.tensarcorp.com/interax-sample-request

I did not download this eBook because it requires a registration. But maybe some readers are willing to do that.

Tensar Americas posted
Our free ebook compares the pros and cons of stabilizing bad soils with chemicals and geogrid. Download your copy.

Tensar Americas posted
Which is better, chemical stabilization or mechanical stabilization with geogrids? This e-book explains the pros and cons of each method, with actual project examples.
eBook offer

1904 Peterborough Lift Lock (#21) on Trent-Severn Waterway in Peterborough, ON

(Historic Bridges; Satellites: Historic Site, Lock #21, Visitor Center)

Part of the Trent-Severn Waterway

The length is 141.1 Feet (43 Meters). and the width is 32.8 Feet (10 Meters). [HistoricBridges]

Lock #21 via Dennis DeBruler
36.6m (120') x 9.7m (32') x 19.8m (65')
Opened on July 9, 1904, it is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, 65' (20m).

Street View, Oct 2021

 

Rick Stout posted
Lock of Love: The Trent Severn is made up of forty-four locks in total however some are not traditional locks. The Marine Railway at Big Chute Ontario is classed as Lock 44 however it is a marine railway carriage that can take a 100 ft and 100 ton boat from the lower Gloucester Pool up a 78 ft grade to the upper Severn River and re-launch it. As most are traditional locks, four of which are double flight locks 11&12 at Campbellford Ont and 16 &17 at Healey Falls Ont. there is also two hydraulic lift locks and they are Lock 36 at Kirkfield Ont. and Lock 21 at Peterborough. The Peterborough Hydraulic Lift Lock opened in 1904 and it works as two side by side tubs that lift water and boats to the next level. When one tub rises and the top gate opens, the water level rises by 12" in the tub. At the same time the opposite tub is at the lower level and as that gate opens, the water drops 12". This makes one tub heavier then the other. When the transfer valve is opened, the heavier tub begins to drop while the lighter tub rises. After the boats in the lock depart, the gate is closed and the process is revesed. The system was originally built to float timber through the system.
Jim Dean: I believe the Peterborough lift lock is the highest of its' kind in the world and the structure has no re-bars imbedded in its' concrete.
Paul Ingram: Jim Dean The Liftlock is the largest un-reinforced ( no rebar ) concrete pour in the world. Peterborough also has the largest unreinforced concrete bridge ( the Hunter Street Bridge ). The Kirkfield Liftlock has a steel frame rather than concrete.

Portland Cement In The Trent-Severn Canal Lift Locks

Gord Young, Editor for Lakefield Heritage Research provided the following detailed discussion which explains why the Kirkfield Lift Lock has the trussed steel towers instead of concrete, and the significance of the Portland Cement that was used in the Peterborough Lift Lock.

The Peterborough Lift Lock is the largest and tallest compressed Portland cement structure in the world. We know this, because test walls created at the Lakefield Portland Cement Company's former property have the highest density Portland cement recorded. Kirkfield Lift Lock on the other hand had to substitute a steel cage using the same shape as that at Peterborough, only because Rogers and later, Grant who replaced Rogers, could not get adequate "on-time" deliveries of the Lakefield Portland Cement Company. Something was wrong with the materials coming out of a Portland cement plant that was created near Kirkfield to try to alleviate the problem. Nothing worked for Grant. He threw up his hands and built the steel-caging instead. The design for Peterborough and Kirkfield was based on the Peavey-Haglin grain elevator in St. Paul MN. Only two things changed from the grain elevator to the lift locks. The concrete forms were squared, and, the Portland cement was compressed after being poured. Haglin's grain elevator was a simple Portland pour. Both lift locks and the grain elevator used the same principle of pour a form and then jack-up the form when the lower-half was nearly set. Rogers had a certain amount of Portland cement poured into the form, then had it tamped until it was nearly dry, poured more, tamped, poured more, tamped, then when full, began jacking up the form. Now that the outer slathing-parging has peeled off, you can see the ridges of the pouring forms.

[HistoricBridges]

CottageLife, PHOTO BY JUSTEN SOULE, COURTESY OF PARKS CANADA (source)
Calling all paddlers! Pile into the historic Peterborough Lift Lock [Aug 26, 2023]
"It was built from 1896 to 1904 on the Otonabee River section of the Trent-Severn Canal and was designated a national heritage site in 1979 due to its massive size. At a height of 20 metres [66'], it is the largest hydraulic lift in the world that is still in regular operation, according to Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations."

Maurie MacDonald posted
Locks of Love .. closeup at a Trent-Severn Lock from aboard.. 2022
[I presume this photo is of this lock.]

TalesFromTheAmericanWaterways-2 via Dennis DeBruler, one of four photos of the Peterborough Lift Lock
"Two adjacent holding tanks simultaneously move in opposite directions, to take boats up and down the lock.  No electric power is used and the lock works simply by the weight of water in the upper tank being greater than that of the lower one. The lift is 65 ft – at the time it was built, in 1904, it was the largest structure in the world to be built from unreinforced concrete. It is very quick too – the ascent took only a couple of minutes."

1:16 video