Kelly Green
Profile Updated: September 18, 2009
| Residing In: | Cornelius, NC |
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| Occupation: | Civil Engineer (1 of them infrastructure experts) |
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| Children: | No identifiable kids... no wife... no pets... no nothin'. Well... I still have my Partridge Family More… |
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Posted: Dec 17, 2013 at 12:36 AM
Here I am in St Louis, on the Mississippi River, with my friend Cathy, November 2008. We're standing atop a lock. We were the only two on the tour of this water control structure, that includes an adjacent museum. See Photo 3 for an aerial view and further explanation.
Posted: Dec 17, 2013 at 12:36 AM
This was my first time in St Louis. I was working throughout Missouri on another FEMA disaster - heavy rains and flooding. Interesting state. Cathy visited me during the Thanksgiving 4-day weekend. We also went to the (famous) Arch, the Anheuser-Busch headquarters/brewery tour (yum, free beer), a HS championship football game, a Rams/Dolphins game and three casinos (hey, I think I broke even!).
Posted: Dec 17, 2013 at 12:36 AM
A view of the lock, facing north on the Mississippi. Cathy and I are on top of the structure, in the first two photos. This was a really neat tour, including the adjacent museum.
There are 30 or so locks along the upper Mississippi River; none on the lower Mississippi. The upper Mississippi River, which runs from the headwaters (in Minnesota) to St Louis, experiences dramatic fluctuations along the river bottom. During the winter, these fluctuations would cause boats and barges to "hit bottom" so the Army Corps of Engineers constructed all these locks in the early 20th Century to control the water level along the upper part. Locks act as elevators. There are none in western states; just dams. The Panama Canal is famous for its locks.
This particular lock was rebuilt 10 years ago, and is the exception. Reconstruction expanded the facility to allow twice the barge traffic. Most locks are old and too small to allow typical barges to get thru in one pass. I've run out char's.
There are 30 or so locks along the upper Mississippi River; none on the lower Mississippi. The upper Mississippi River, which runs from the headwaters (in Minnesota) to St Louis, experiences dramatic fluctuations along the river bottom. During the winter, these fluctuations would cause boats and barges to "hit bottom" so the Army Corps of Engineers constructed all these locks in the early 20th Century to control the water level along the upper part. Locks act as elevators. There are none in western states; just dams. The Panama Canal is famous for its locks.
This particular lock was rebuilt 10 years ago, and is the exception. Reconstruction expanded the facility to allow twice the barge traffic. Most locks are old and too small to allow typical barges to get thru in one pass. I've run out char's.