Minneapolis locks opening April 21 for navigation season
Written by Heather Ervin
Lock and Dam 1 in Minneapolis, Minn. Credit: USACE
Due to the arrival of spring, the St. Paul Engineer District is opening Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1, both in Minneapolis, Minn., to commercial and recreational vessels for the navigation season on Sunday, April 21.
Other St. Paul District locks and dams opened last month.
Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minneapolis remains permanently closed.
The St. Paul District navigation program provides a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system on the Upper Mississippi River for the movement of commercial goods and for national security needs. To do this, the district maintains a 9-foot navigation channel and 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy.
Lock and Dam 1 fast facts
- Located on Mississippi River mile 847.9, in the city of Minneapolis.
- Construction completed in 1917, reconstructed in 1929. The main lock was completed in May 1932. The last major rehabilitation occured between 1978-1983.
- The dam consists of an Ambursen concrete overflow structure 574-feet long.
- The hydro power station is owned and operated by Brookfield Power Co.
- The lock chamber is 56 feet wide by 400 feet long. It is the only twin lock in the district.
