New Cumberland Locks and Dam on Ohio River at Stratton, OH

(Satellite)

USACE-mission
"Across the river and two miles downstream lies New Cumberland, W.Va., the originally planned site of the lock and dam, and hence its namesake....The New Cumberland navigation project was constructed from 1955 to 1961, with the locks opening for traffic in November 1959. This facility eliminated the original Locks and Dams 7, 8 and 9 which were constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904-1914. The three replaced projects each contained a single lock and the old-style wooden wicket dam."

David Gulden posted

LaurelHollowPark
First of the Army Corps of Engineers' Ohio River "super-dams" to go into operation is the $13.5-million New Cumberland Dam at Stratton, Ohio. The 1,315-foot long structure was built by Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh. The new high-lift dame raises upper pool level 15 feet.

USACE-whoops
Dec 13, 2016: They shutdown the main lock when they noticed a sheen in the main lock. The sheen was caused by a failure in the hydraulic system that operates the gates and valves. The aux lock had been put out of service for a couple of years because of structural issues that prevent its safe operation.
(Note that the upper gates of the aux lock are not closed. They can't close them and that is why that lock is shutdown. [triblive-dec15])

The "structural issues" for the aux lock concerns the upstream miter gates, not the lock's concrete. [WeirtonDailyTimes] But they waited until 2019 before they contracted for replacement gates. [govtribe]

Charlie Mason posted
The long gone Toronto Ohio Plant from the New Cumberland Locks and Dam. (Ohio River) mid 80’s

PittsburghCorps Flickr
New Cumberland Locks and Dam Lockmaster Willy Maynard speaks to Tribune Review Tom Fontaine about the gate hoist mechanism above the facility.

"Welders cut and capped faulty hydraulic lines that leaked 150 gallons of hydraulic fluid into the main chamber. To open and close gates at one of the locks, Maynard said, workers will use a 53-foot work boat to push and pull the gates, which stand about five stories tall. The complicated process figures to make it take at least twice as long for boats to get through the lock — from one hour, on average, to up to 2 1⁄2 hours. The lock, normally open around the clock, will be open only during daylight hours." The plan for a permanent fix is to replace the existing hydraulic system "with four self-contained hydraulic units that would sit on top of walls at the facility. The current system includes underwater lines buried in the sand, making repairs more difficult and increasing the risk for environmental contamination. The new system would cost about $2 million. Army Corps spokesman Jeff Hawk said officials plan to submit a request for emergency funding to cover the cost. Maynard said it could take six months to a year to secure the money."  [triblive-dec15]

The failure occurred Dec 12, 2016, and the lock was reopened Dec 17, an outage of 5 days. They have fine tuned their procedure for using the 53' work boat so that lock time is extended by only 15 to 30 minutes. The outage delayed 11 tows. [triblive-dec17]

I looked through quite a bit of a Google search output trying to find when the permanent repairs were done. But I couldn't find any more info on the repairs.

The middle gates are obviously submersible tainter gates. Even though the other gates look like the sluice gates used in the Emsworth Dam, they are evidently just another design for regular (non-submersible) tainter gates. [spillway-design]

Chuck Smith, Sep 2016

Tom Miller posted two photos with the comment: "View of New Cumberland locks and dam from WH Sammis in Stratton, Ohio."

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Jared Evan McClellan posted
15 loads N/B Double Newcumberland  lock and dam MV MARNE B— with Margaret McClellan at New Cumberland Locks and Dam.

Steven Foret commented on Jared's post
Right behind you good buddy

The first lock in this time-lapse video is this lock.

We Work the Waterways posted two photos with the comment:

New Cumberland Lock main chamber pintle ball miter gate repairs are in full swing. This is at Mile 54 on the Ohio River in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District. 

While repairs are underway tows have to lock in the auxiliary or small chamber. The main chamber is 1200 feet long by 110 feet wide. However, the small chamber is only 600 feet long by 110’ wide. 

This means the tow has to be double locked. Here we see the M/V TENNESSEE from Amherst Madison in the process of doing just that while a heavy lift crane is removing one of the huge miter gates. Each gate is 35 feet tall, 61 feet wide and weighs 235,000 pounds or 118 tons. 

Courtesy of Capt Jim Smiley (Capted Smiley).

Stephen Porter: This is the Medium Capacity Fleet (MCF), home ported at the Pittsburgh Repair Station. The SHREVE heavy lift crane has the miter gate on the hook. Coincidentally, the MCF’s workboat is also the TENNESSEE. MCF will begin work at Pike Island L/D in a few weeks and the SHREVE will be at Pickwick L/D in July.

[To put this hardship in perspective, almost all of the locks on the Mississippi River are just 600' and require double locking.]

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Capted Smiley commented on the above post

Historic Fort Steuben posted

🌊 From Frontier Waters to Engineered Power: The Transformation of New Cumberland ⚙️

1785 – A Wild Frontier 🌲

The Ohio River near today’s Stratton, Ohio and New Cumberland was free-flowing and unpredictable. Spring floods overflowed the banks, while late summer droughts exposed sandbars. There were no locks or dams—only canoes, flatboats, and a rugged frontier landscape.

1904–1914 – The First Locks and Dams 🏗️

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Locks and Dams 7, 8, and 9 to improve navigation. These sites used wooden wicket dams and single lock chambers—advanced for their time but labor-intensive and limited in capacity.

1955–1961 – Modernization Begins 🚧

As river traffic increased, the old system became outdated. The Corps replaced the three aging sites with one modern facility—the New Cumberland project. The new gated dam and larger locks opened in 1959 and were completed in 1961.

Today – A Reliable River System 🚢

The modern system maintains a consistent nine-foot navigation channel, supporting industry, commerce, and recreation. What was once a wild frontier river is now a carefully managed transportation corridor.

Adam Bowman commented on the above post
Another view as of 02/13/26

Historic Fort Steuben posted

🚢 Taming the River: The Story Behind New Cumberland Locks and Dam

In the early 1900s, the Ohio River was unpredictable—flooding in the spring and running too shallow in the summer. Barges carrying coal, steel, and grain often stalled, slowing industry from Pittsburgh downstream.

By the 1950s, America needed a dependable river highway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers replaced several small, outdated locks with a modern system at Stratton, Ohio, creating what we now know as the New Cumberland Locks and Dam.

🌊 Key Facts:

- It is the fourth lock and dam on the Ohio River downstream from Pittsburgh, located at approximately mile 54.

- The facility has two lock chambers: a 1,200 ft commercial lock for barge tows and a 600 ft auxiliary lock for smaller boats and recreational traffic.

- Construction began in 1955, and the locks opened around 1961, replacing older locks and wicket-style dams.

- The dam maintains a steady 9-foot navigation channel, ensuring commerce moves efficiently year-round.

- Built for one simple reason: to tame the river just enough to keep commerce moving year-round.

Image Taken By: SHS Aerospace Engineering & Aviation Program

Roy Gryskevich commented on the above post
From the WV side.