Saturday, March 12, 2022

1964 Opekiska Lock and Dam on Monongahela River

(Satellite)

When I noticed that the Rivesville Power Plant had equipment to unload barges, I used a satellite map to find the first lock that was downstream, which was this Opekiaska L&D. Judging from a satellite map scale, the lock is the standard 600' x 110' size. 

USACE
This is the last of the nine locks and dams on the Monongahela River that provides a 9' waterway from the mouth in Pittsburgh to Fairmont, WV. It was built in 1961-64, and it replaced Locks 14 and 15, the last of the 60-year-old locks and dams remaining on the river. The navigation channel is open year round. (I checked a map and found that Pittsburgh is south of Peoria IL.)

I saved a satellite image to capture the debris pile that is at the open spillway.
Satellite

A history center has some construction photos with the copyright restrictions that are unfortunately rather typical of history societies and libraries.

Because of the demise of coal traffic, staffing the locks has become an issue. [wvnews]


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