FLORENCE, Ala. — The Wilson Lock and Dam in Florence is the highest single-lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains, sitting at 94 feet tall. It sees almost 11.4 million tons of products coming up and down the river each year. But one of its main gates is cracked, meaning all that river travel cannot make it through the lock and is backed up outside the dam.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Nashville District's chief of technical support Brian Mangrum said, "The operators, as they were filling and emptying that lock chamber, reported some popping and vibration noises coming from those gates. So, after we sent some divers in to inspect, we discovered some cracking up on the lower portions of the gate. So, these are really large steel structures."
And large they are, holding nearly 27,000 gallons of water in the lock. The lock itself is over 100 feet wide and 600 feet long, just smaller than Seattle's Space Needle.
"Our next step is to actually bring in some assets to where we can set closure structures, pump the water out of the chamber, and get engineers and other folks into the facility, in the dry, to inspect and confirm the repair plans that we've been developing since we implemented the closure," Mangrum said.
The auxiliary lock still works, but its smaller size means boats have to take their barges apart and bring each one of them through the lock individually, a process taking about 90 minutes each time it's done. This has caused shipping delays of up to nine days for vessels carrying products down the river.
Morgan County Economic Development Association (MCEDA) CEO Jeremy Nails said, "The closure of Wilson Lock due to maintenance issues is definitely causing all shippers on the Tennessee River delays, as well as getting products in and out by barge."
Partnering with the USACE to complete the project, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) strategic communicator Clarissa McClain said in a statement, "TVA continues to work in partnership with the USACE to return Wilson Lock to full and safe operations as soon as possible."
Until a more permanent fix is in place, the USACE has a repair fleet on-site working to get the steel gate back into operational condition by April 2025. The USACE declined to mention a total cost for the project because repairs are still ongoing, and costs are still being calculated.