McAlpine Locks and Dam
Encyclopedia
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
at the Falls of the Ohio. They are located at mile point 606.8 and control a 72.9 mile (117 km) long navigation pool. This was the first major engineering project on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, and the first official name of the system of canal locks was the Louisville and Portland Canal
Louisville and Portland Canal
The Louisville and Portland Canal was a canal bypassing the Falls of the Ohio in the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1830, and was operated by the Louisville and Portland Canal Company until 1874, and became the McAlpine Locks and Dam in 1962 after heavy modernization.Although...
, which was completed in 1830 to allow shipping traffic to navigate through the Falls of the Ohio. From 1925 to 1927, a dam for generating hydroelectric power was added, and the system of canals was expanded, first by a private company and then by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The hydroelectric plant at the time was the seventh largest hydroelectric plant in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The system was renamed the McAlpine Locks and Dam in 1960 in honor of William McAlpine, who was the only civilian to have ever served as district engineer for the Corps of Louisville. At present, the normal pool elevation is 420 feet (130 m) above sea level and the drainage area above the dam is 91,170 square miles (236,000 km²). The average daily flow at McAlpine is 118,000 cubic feet per second (3,340 m³/s). The lock chambers are located at the dam on the Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
side of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and are capable of a normal lift of 37 feet (11 m) between the McAlpine pool upstream and the Cannelton
Cannelton, Indiana
Cannelton is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,209 at the 2000 census. Cannelton, which is the smallest incorporated city in the state, was formerly the county seat of Perry County until the seat was relocated to Tell City...
pool downstream. The hydroelectric plant consists of eight turbine units with a net power generation capacity of 80,000 kilowatts. The hydroelectric plant is currently undergoing an 8-year long rehabilitation project. This will extend the life of the 1920s era turbine-generator
units and increase power output to 100 megawatts.
In October 2003, McAlpine was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
.
The McAlpine locks underwent a 10-year, $278 million expansion project scheduled to be completed in 2008, but was completed in early 2009.
The hydroelectric plant is owned and operated by Louisville Gas & Electric
Louisville Gas & Electric
Louisville Gas & Electric is a utilities company based in Louisville, Kentucky. A subsidiary of PPL Corporation through the LG&E and KU Energy subsidiary, LG&E serves over 350,000 electric and over 300,000 natural gas customers, covers an area of 700 square miles , and has a total regulated...
, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation while the locks are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.