Industrial Canal Lock facts for kids
The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock—often called the Industrial Lock—is a special water elevator for boats, known as a navigation lock, located in New Orleans. It connects the Lower Mississippi River to the Industrial Canal and other waterways that are at sea level.
This lock was built in the 1920s. It's shorter and narrower than most modern locks on the Mississippi River System. This makes it a very busy, and sometimes slow, connection point. It links two of the nation's busiest waterways: the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
The lock is located on the Lower Mississippi River at mile 92.6. Because many waterways meet here, the lock chamber is also considered mile 6 on the Intracoastal Waterway. It's also mile 63 on the Mississippi River–Gulf Outlet Canal.
The water over the lock's bottom (called the sill) is 9.6 meters (about 31.5 feet) deep. However, most of the boats that use it are shallower barges.
History of the Industrial Lock
The Port of New Orleans built the Industrial Canal and its lock. Their goal was to create a way for boats to travel between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. This important project was finished in 1923.
In the 1930s, the federal Gulf Intracoastal Waterway connected to the Industrial Canal. It used the lock to link up with the Mississippi River. At first, boats using the lock had to pay a small fee. But starting in 1944, the U.S. government took over the lock and part of the canal. This meant boats no longer had to pay a toll.
Another waterway, the Mississippi River–Gulf Outlet Canal (MRGO), was completed in 1965. This canal was a deep channel for large ocean-going ships. It offered a shorter route from the Port of New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico. So, three different waterways—the Industrial Canal, the Intracoastal, and the MRGO—all used the same lock to connect to the river.
In 1986, the U.S. government officially bought the Industrial Lock from the Port of New Orleans.
The MRGO was closed in 2008. This was because it played a role in guiding Hurricane Katrina's storm surge into Greater New Orleans. The closure reduced the amount of traffic going through the lock.
Recent Repairs and Upgrades
The Industrial Lock had major repairs in 1998. It was closed for two months during this time. Boats had to take a longer detour through Breton Sound near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
The repair project cost $6 million. About $2 million of this was for emergency fixes. For the first time in 20 years, the water was drained from the lock chamber. Workers replaced concrete in parts of the chamber and in four of the eight valves. The old valve parts were rusty and corroded. They were replaced with new stainless steel parts.
Six of the ten original gates were also repaired. These gates were built around 1920 and each weighed 250 tons. They were removed, cleaned by sandblasting, and had weak spots fixed. New seals and pins were also installed.
According to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the lock was closed again on August 11, 2008, for 60 days for more repairs.
Plans for a New Lock
Building a larger replacement lock was approved as early as 1956. This would happen if boat traffic became too heavy. By the late 1900s, barge groups were waiting about ten hours on average to pass through the lock.
Even though some local neighborhoods, like the Lower 9th Ward and Bywater, were against it, Congress approved a $573 million replacement project in 1998. Work then began to buy land and prepare the site.
The new lock is designed to be much larger. It would be 35.5 meters (about 110 feet) wide, 366 meters (about 1200 feet) long, and 9.6 meters (about 31.5 feet) deep. The plan is to build parts of the new lock nearby and then float them into place. It would be built just north of the current lock.
Other related projects include replacing the nearby St. Claude Avenue Bridge and the Florida Avenue Bridge.
People who are against the new lock say it could cause environmental problems. They also argue it might not be worth the cost. For example, the number of large ships using the old lock dropped by 29 percent between 1983 and 1991. Also, the main product carried by barges, coal, is expected to continue to decrease.
However, supporters of the new lock say that the old, small lock is slowing down trade. They also point out that since the MRGO closed, large ocean-going ships cannot easily reach the inner harbor of the Industrial Canal. This limits how useful the canal is for shipyards and other businesses that need water access. Many businesses have already left the area since the MRGO closed. A new lock could help the Port of New Orleans reopen important terminals that relied on the MRGO.
