Lock and Dam No. 19

Lock and Dam No. 19 is a

The lock and dam obliterated the Des Moines Rapids which had effectively been the northern barrier for traffic on the Mississippi until efforts began in 1837 to address the Mississippi's 2 ft 6 in (76 cm) depth in the rapids.

Locks

The main lock was constructed from 1952 to 1957 and is 1,200 feet (366 m) long and 110 feet (34 m) wide with a lift of just over 38 feet (12 m) and large enough to handle a full-length tow of barges. It was put into operation in 1957 at a cost of 13.5 million dollars. The 1957 lock replaced a 1910-1913 lock. The 1913 lock was a variant of the standardized

The lock and dam, as well as the rest of the river, can be viewed from a distance on the Observation Deck of the Keokuk Rail Bridge.

Dam

Construction of the dam began in 1910, and was completed in 1913. The movable portion of the dam is 4,620 feet (1,408 m) long with 119 separate 30 feet (9 m) rectangular, steel-skin plated, sliding gates. The gates are either installed or removed and river flow is controlled by the number of gates installed. They are removed by a gantry crane that travels on the service bridge above the dam. At the time it was completed it was second in length only to the

Construction began in 1910 and when completed in 1913 it was the largest capacity, single powerhouse electricity generating plant in the world. The Power House and spillways are owned and operated by

After World War II, a number of modernization improvements were undertaken. The 25-cycle generators were progressively converted to 60-cycle generators beginning in 1940s with the final units converted in 2002. Electronic automation replacement for some mechanical systems began in 1980s. Ameren Missouri, the current powerhouse owner, began replacement and conversion of the original 1913 turbines with more efficient stainless steel turbines.^[4] Today, Keokuk Energy Center remains the largest privately owned and operated dam on the Mississippi River. In addition to Lock and Dam No. 19,

• Keokuk Rail Bridge
• Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge

References

• Hallwas, John E. (2001). Keokuk and the Great Dam. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing.
• Diver, Lorene Curtis. To Sound Waves. This is a booklet Mrs. Diver wrote about the sounds heard from her Keokuk, Iowa, home as the dam was being built in 1913. Her husband was James Brice Diver, an engineer and bridge builder.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mississippi River Lock and Dam number 19.

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IA-27, "Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No. 19, Keokuk, Lee County, IA", 79 photos, 17 data pages, 5 photo caption pages
• Lock No. 19 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Keokuk Area Convention and Tourism Bureau
• Ameren Missouri Fact Sheet
• Hugh L. Cooper speaks to MIT civil engineers Jan. 1915
• National Register of Historic Places Nomination #78001234, Iowa SP Keokuk Lock and Dam, via National Archives and Records Administration