Keokuk Dam
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Lock and Dam No. 19 is a lock and dam located on the
Upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
Mississippi River near Keokuk, Iowa. In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Lock and Dam No. 19 Historic District, #04000179 covering , 7 buildings, 12 structures, 1 object. The lock is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is owned and operated by Ameren Missouri. 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 depth in the rapids.


Locks

The main lock was constructed from 1952 to 1957 and is long and wide with a lift of just over 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 Panama Canal design and was wide, long and tall with a lift. There was a wide, long and deep dry dock at the site, both the
dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
and 1913 lock were dewatered in 1977 when a sheet pile and cell closure were built blocking the upstream sides of the lock and dry dock. 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 The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk Municipal Bridge, is a double-deck, single-track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississip ...
.


Dam

Construction of the dam began in 1910, and was completed in 1913. The movable portion of the dam is long with 119 separate 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 Aswan Low Dam on the
Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
.


Powerhouse

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 Ameren Missouri and has a 142 MW capacity. The powerhouse contains 15 generators, originally designed to produce 25 Hz instead of the 60 Hz alternating current used today. Keokuk and Hamilton Water Power landed contracts in 1910 to deliver 44.7 MW of electricity to three customers located in St. Louis, MO (more than 100 miles downstream), at a time when no electric power had been transmitted more than a few miles: The Union Electric Light and Power Company, Laclede Gas Company and United Railways Company, which operated the St. Louis Street Railway Company. Union Electric Co. purchased the facilities in 1925. The 25 Hz generators powered industrial customers and used for the
Streetcars in St. Louis, Missouri Streetcars in St. Louis, Missouri operated as part of the transportation network of St. Louis from the middle of the 19th century through the early 1960s. During the first forty years of the streetcar in the city, a variety of private companies op ...
. 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. Today, Keokuk Energy Center remains the largest privately owned and operated dam on the Mississippi River. In addition to Lock and Dam No. 19,
Lock and Dam No. 1 Ford Dam, officially known as Lock and Dam No. 1, is on the Upper Mississippi River and is located between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota just north of the confluence of the Mississippi with the Minnesota River at Mississippi River mile 84 ...
,
Lock and Dam No. 2 Lock and Dam No. 2 is located along the Upper Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota and construction commenced in 1927. The eastern dam portion is wide and has 19 tainter gates. A hydroelectric station that produces about 4.4 megawatts ...
and the upper St. Anthony Falls dam also produce electricity on the Mississippi River system.


See also

*
Keokuk Rail Bridge The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk Municipal Bridge, is a double-deck, single-track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississip ...
* Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge


References

* * 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

*
Lock No. 19 - U.S. Army Corps of EngineersAmeren Missouri Fact SheetHugh L. Cooper speaks to MIT civil engineers Jan. 1915
{{Lee County NRHP Buildings and structures in Hancock County, Illinois Buildings and structures in Lee County, Iowa Mississippi River locks National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Iowa 19 19 19 Keokuk, Iowa Dams in Iowa Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois Historic American Engineering Record in Iowa Transportation buildings and structures in Lee County, Iowa Tourist attractions in Lee County, Iowa United States Army Corps of Engineers dams United States power company dams Gravity dams Dams on the Mississippi River Mississippi Valley Division National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, Illinois Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Hydroelectric power plants in Iowa 19