
The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (popularly known as the Tenn-Tom) is a artificial
waterway
A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...
built in the 20th century from the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
to the junction of the
Black Warrior-
Tombigbee River system near
Demopolis, Alabama
Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
The city lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and Tombigbee ...
, United States. The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway links commercial navigation from the nation's midsection to the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. The major features of the waterway are of navigation channels, a cut between the watersheds of the Tombigbee and Tennessee rivers, and ten
locks and dams.
The locks are , the same dimension as those on the
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
above Lock and Dam 26 at
Alton, Illinois
Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...
.
[
]
Under construction for 12 years by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
, the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway was completed in December 1984 at a total cost of nearly $2 billion.
["About the Tenn-Tom Waterway". 2009. Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority. Available at .]
The Tenn-Tom encompasses 17 public ports and terminals, of land, and another managed by state conservation agencies for wildlife
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
preservation and recreational use.
Early history and construction
First proposed in the Colonial period, the idea for a commercial waterway link between the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers did not receive serious attention until the advent of river
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
traffic in the early nineteenth century. It stimulated trade throughout the river cities, and the ability to get products to the Gulf Coast for overseas shipping. As steamboat efficiency gains caused
water transport
Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pr ...
costs to decline, in 1875 engineers surveyed a potential canal route for the first time.
[Van West, Carroll. ''Tennessee History''. University of Tennessee Press, 1998.] They issued a negative report, emphasizing that prohibitive cost estimates kept the project from economic feasibility.
Enthusiasm for the project languished until the presidency of
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, who took office during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
and quickly conceived of investment in major infrastructure projects to put many of the unemployed to work. The development of the Tennessee River by the
TVA, especially the construction of the
Pickwick Lock and Dam in 1938, helped decrease the Tenn-Tom's potential economic costs and increase its potential benefits. Pickwick Lake's design included an embayment on its south shore at Yellow Creek, which would permit the design and construction of an entrance to a future southward waterway (leading to the Tombigbee River), should it be decided that such a waterway would be built in the future.
Later, construction (under World War II emergency authorization) of
Kentucky Dam
Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston County, Kentucky, Livingston and Marshall County, Kentucky, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on ...
at
Gilbertsville, Kentucky
Gilbertsville is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. It is the closest village to the Kentucky Dam. The town was relocated to its present site when Kentucky Dam and Kentucky Dam V ...
, near the mouth of the Tennessee River's confluence with the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
, would complete the "northern" half of the future waterway.
As early as 1941 the proposal was combined with those for other waterways, such as the
St. Lawrence Seaway, with the aim of building broader political support. Also, in the early 1960s it was proposed that the canal could be created by use of atomic blasts.
As part of his "
Southern Strategy" for election, Republican
President Richard Nixon committed to the project. He included $1 million in the Corps of Engineers' 1971 budget to start construction of the Tenn-Tom.
[Ward, Rufus. ''Tombigbee River. History Press, 2010.] Funding shortages and legal challenges delayed construction until December 1972, but Nixon's efforts initiated official Tenn-Tom waterway construction.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began work on the project in 1972. During the construction process, land excavation reached about in depth and required the excavation of nearly 310 million cubic yards of soil (the equivalent of more than 100 million dump truck loads). The project was completed on December 12, 1984, nearly two years ahead of schedule.
[Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority.]
Political challenges
The $2 billion in required funding for the Tenn-Tom waterway was repeatedly attacked by elected representatives and political organizations. Opponents asserted that the estimated economic benefits of the waterway by the Corps of Engineers were unsupportable based on projected traffic volume. By 1977, the Tenn-Tom was one of many such Corps of Engineers projects that had been initiated in the belief that they would directly or indirectly return to the Treasury their cost(s) of construction.
Immediately after his election in 1976, Democratic President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
announced a plan to slash Tenn-Tom federal funding, as part of broader reductions in federal spending. Carter, and the economic advisors recruited to his administration, objected to the "waste" of taxpayer dollars on "
pork-barrel projects".
But, after more than 6,500 waterway supporters attended a public hearing held in
Columbus, Mississippi
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Mississippi, Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the ...
, as part of Carter's review of the proposed waterway, the President withdrew his opposition.
The
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.
Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...
filed a series of lawsuits to halt construction of the waterway.
[Ferris, William. ''Encyclopedia of Southern History''. University of North Carolina, 1989.] Railroad companies, which served as a major transport alternative to river traffic and stood to potentially lose the most value from construction of the waterway, asserted that its construction violated the
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law designed to promote the enhancement of the environment. It created new laws requiring U.S. federal government agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of ...
.
Federal courts ruled in favor of the project.
Economic effects
When completed, the Tenn-Tom waterway's total cost was $1.992 billion, including non-federal costs. Some political and economic commentators derided the project as "pork-barrel politics at its worst".
For the first few years after its completion, such criticism appeared valid. The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway had opened in the midst of an economic
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
in the barge business, which resulted in initially disappointingly low use of the waterway.
The
1988 drought, however, closed the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and shifted traffic to the Tenn-Tom canal.
This coincided with an economic turnaround on the Tennessee-Tombigbee corridor, wherein trade tonnage and commercial investment increased steadily over several years.
The two primary commodities shipped via the Tenn-Tom are coal and timber products, together comprising about 70 percent of total commercial shipping on the waterway.
["Economic Impacts of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway". 2009. Troy University.] The Tenn-Tom also provides access to over of commercial forests and approximately two-thirds of all recoverable coal reserves in the nation. Industries that use these natural resources have found the waterway to be their most cost-efficient mode of transportation.
Other popular trade products carried on the Tenn-Tom include grain, gravel, sand, and iron.
A 2009 study by
Troy University found that the waterway had contributed nearly $43 billion in direct, indirect, and induced economic benefits to the United States, including the direct creation of more than 29,000 jobs,
and was replacing an annual average of 284,000 truckloads.
Divide Cut
The Divide Cut () is a canal that makes the connection to the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
. It connects
Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee to
Bay Springs Lake, at
Mississippi Highway 30. The cut carries the waterway between the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
watershed, which eventually empties into the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
, and the
Tombigbee River watershed, which eventually empties into the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
at
Mobile.
Pickwick Lake is a popular location for
water sport
Water sports or aquatic sports are sport, sports activities conducted on waterbodies and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants.
On the water
* Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races
* ...
s such as
waterskiing
Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...
and
wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboarding ...
.
For construction of the Divide Cut, the entire town of
Holcut, Mississippi, had to be removed and demolished. Today, the Holcut Memorial lies alongside the waterway on the previous site of the town.
Nuclear excavation study
The Divide Cut was investigated as a candidate for the use of nuclear explosives as part of
Project Plowshare. Three routes were considered, including the Yellow Creek route that was eventually chosen for the conventional excavation. The Bear Creek route was considered best for nuclear explosives, as it was rocky and more likely to be stable following blasts. The nuclear excavation proposal for Bear Creek envisioned 81 nuclear devices ranging from 10 to 50
kiloton
TNT equivalent is a convention for expressing energy, typically used to describe the energy released in an explosion. A ton of TNT equivalent is a unit of energy defined by convention to be (). It is the approximate energy released in the det ...
s, with a total explosive yield of 1.9 megatons. A cost analysis indicated that nuclear explosives would increase costs from 31 to 73 percent over conventional excavation on the Yellow Creek route. Two safety analyses recommended that the project not be pursued. The studies projected severe damage to nearby communities from air blast, seismic motion, groundwater contamination, and fallout. No further study was undertaken, and conventional excavation was pursued.
Locks and dams
The waterway is composed of ten locks (listed below from north to south along the waterway); many are named after Southern politicians who supported the project:
*
Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam; formerly named Bay Springs Lock and Dam – impounds
Bay Springs Lake
*
G. V. Montgomery Lock; formerly named Lock E
*
John Rankin Lock; formerly named Lock D
*
Fulton Lock; located in
Fulton, Mississippi, formerly named Lock C
*
Glover Wilkins Lock; located in
Smithville, Mississippi, formerly named Lock B
*
Amory Lock; located in
Amory, Mississippi, formerly named Lock A
*
Aberdeen Lock and Dam; located in
Aberdeen, Mississippi
Aberdeen is the county seat of Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,961, down from 5,612 in 2010.
Located on the banks of the Tombigbee River, Aberdeen was one of the busiest Mississippi ports ...
– impounds
Aberdeen Lake
*
John C. Stennis Lock and Dam; formerly named
Columbus Lock and Dam – impounds
Columbus Lake
*
Tom Bevill Lock and Dam; formerly named
Aliceville Lock and Dam – impounds
Aliceville Lake
Aliceville Lake is a reservoir in western Alabama and eastern Mississippi, on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Close to Aliceville, Alabama, Aliceville, it is impounded by the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam.
See also
*List of Alabama dams and reservoir ...
*
Howell Heflin Lock and Dam; formerly named
Gainesville Lock and Dam – impounds
Gainesville Lake
Gallery
Image:Tenn-Tom Divide Cut Construction.jpg, The Divide Cut under construction in the early 1980s
Image:USACE Amory Lock.jpg, Amory Lock at Amory, Mississippi
Image:Tenn-Tom Waterway ICG railroad bridge.jpg, An Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...
(IC) bridge over the waterway at mile 424.8
Image:USACE Divide Cut map large.png, Detailed map of the Divide Cut (Corps of Engineers)
File:Amory Lock 20050910.JPG, Amory Lock
Notes
Further reading
*
*
External links
U.S. Army Corps of EngineersTennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development AuthorityTenn-Tom - A New Waterway For America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway
Lists of dams in the United States
Canals opened in 1984
1984 establishments in the United States
Canals in Alabama
Canals in Mississippi
Mississippi placenames of Native American origin
Alabama placenames of Native American origin
Proposed Project Plowshare projects