These are notes that I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
I missed the announcement of tours of the lock, but someone else caught it and posted his photos. (Unfortunately, I see that yet another internet photo service has pulled the plug.)
In the 1970s when I moved to the Chicagoland area, I was able to drive West on Division Street to an access road on the east dike and visit the lock. When I tried repeating that trip after I retired in 2014, I discovered that Division Street has been closed to the public. :-(
The lift of the 110' x 600' lock has an average of 39' and a maximum of 42'. The annual tonnage of around 10 million is comparable to the John Day Lock on the Columbia River. It was rehabilitated in 2017 at a cost of $150,280,294. [USACE] Before these repairs were made in 2017 "water was escaping through the deteriorated concrete walls" and "headed toward uncontrolled seepage." The walls had been repaired in 1989, but they needed it again. [ChicagoTribune This article has confused the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with the construction of this lock. This lock wasn't built until the 1930s.]
USACE, Chicago District posted The Lockport Lock & Dam after it was acquired by the Chicago District in 1931!
This lock is near the end of the Illinois Waterway. There is more activity downstream. "In 2005, 51.6 million tons of
commercial cargo worth $9.5 billion was transported on the Illinois Waterway." [HAER-data. p14] When constructed, this lock had the highest lift in the world. [DNR]
MWRD posted on Aug 14, 2022 A view of early excavation for a new lock in Lockport, Illinois, on October 31, 1923. The new lock was built between 1923 and 1933 next to the original lock and the adjacent powerhouse and dam, both of which are still in operation. The new, much larger, lock was built by the state of Illinois and the federal government and opened in 1933, which provides the means for movement of larger vessels between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
MWRD posted
On the right of the photo below, we see the west wall of the lock. In the background, from right to left, is the tall, narrow gates for the old 22' x 120' x 34' lock, the current control structure and the powerhouse.
Note that one tow is having to wait while another locks through. That is the CN/EJ&E bridge in the background and the BNSF/SantaFe tracks along the left.
If you look a the first photo, you can see towers and a bridge connecting them at the upper gate. That is because it used to lift the gate up out of the water instead of lowering it down below the water. Similar submersible lift gates are used for the upper gate of the John Day and Keokuk locks.
Matt Weide posted S/B lockport Lock Dennis DeBruler: I'd like to also see a view from a N/B tow while the water is low to see what that lift gate looks like. [The last I looked, the comments was still pending.]
MWRD posted three photos with the comment: "Construction of the lock at Lockport, Illinois, on September 22, 1925. The lock was built by the state of Illinois and the federal government and opened in 1933, replacing the older, smaller lock that had been built by the MWRD in 1907. It provided the means for movement of larger vessels between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal."
Randy Smith I'm about to go into lockport lock with 2 barges in about 1 hour. I always love going in and watching the water inside come over the gates.. I'll add a few pics soon.
3 MWRD posted Construction of the lock at Lockport, Illinois, on September 22, 1925. The lock was built by the state of Illinois and the federal government and opened in 1933, replacing the older, smaller lock that had been built by the MWRD in 1907, and it provided the means for movement of larger vessels between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
MWRD A view to the south showing construction of the lock at Lockport, Illinois, on June 16, 1924. The lock was built by the state of Illinois and the federal government and opened in 1933, replacing the older, smaller lock that had been built by the MWRD in 1907, and it provided the means for movement of larger vessels between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Patrick Kuykendall commented on a post that the lift is 40' and that "I’ve been in the Lockport valves under the lock during the construction in the 80’s." He also provided a couple of photos.
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(new window) time-lapse It looks like it passed four northbound towboats, one with a large, for this area, tow. One of the towboats is a long-distance boat because its pilothouse is not retractable.
6:49 is where the captain is going south in this part of the canal where the water is at the treetop level before the tow enters the lock.
Most of his videos are on the Mississippi River or the lower Ohio River. This is the first one of his that I have seen in the Chicago area.
Winter 2025
USACE, Chicago District posted two photos with the comment:
It’s been a busy first week on the Lockport Dewatering & Gate Replacement Project! 💪 The Rock Island Fleet kicked things off by installing the lower bulkhead and removing the remaining gate machinery buildings in preparation for the upcoming gate removal. 🔧
✅ The upper emergency (secondary) gate was successfully pulled and placed on the barge, followed by the removal of the upper service (main) gate. ✅ The chamber was dewatered, and demolition work on the gate sills is now underway.
Meanwhile, the Lockport Lock staff are busy starting the electrical work needed for the new gate machinery buildings to be set after the new gates are installed. ⚡️
So far the construction schedule is on track with no delays. 👍
[I wish they provided a link to a page that described the project.]
Fort Loudoun shared with the comment: "Both vertical lift gates (service & emergency) on the upper end of the lock are currently being replaced with new ones at Lockport Lock on the upper Illinois waterway near Lockport, IL. We have Wilson Lock in Florence, AL on the Tennessee River that also has a very large vertical lift gate on the upper end of the main lock chamber. These types of navigation lock gates are simply lowered underwater & vessels are able to travel over them when entering/exiting the lock chamber."
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Michael McCall added four photos to the above share with the comment: "The gates were fabricated in Tampa, FL. Barnhart Crane and Rigging out of Knoxville went down and hauled them to Port Redwing and loaded them with 2 600T cranes."
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USACE, Chicago District posted four photos with the comment:
🚨 Lockport Lock Update 🚨
During a recent inspection at Lockport Lock, USACE staff discovered severe cracking in the lower miter gates. The Lock, currently closed until March 25th for upper lift gate replacement, will now likely stay closed until late April to early May due to the additional repairs required.
A team of experts from Rock Island District, Chicago District, and other partners, is working on a temporary fix to get the lock back in service. However, permanent repairs require replacing the original pintle castings, which will take time to manufacture. The current pintle castings are from the mid-1980's gate replacement. A similar, less severe, issue was discovered and repaired in 2019. Engineers are working to identify a cause.
Key Points:
🔧 Temporary repair may extend closure by 4-6 weeks.
🔧 Full repair requires pulling gates, welding new castings, and a second closure later this year.
🔧 Experts are investigating all avenues to source parts and reduce further stress on components.
🔧 Funding and crane availability are also key factors in the repair timeline.
We’re working hard to get Lockport Lock back up and running as soon as possible. Stay tuned for updates! 🚢
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