June 23, 2010---Drove the short distance from Grand Rivers to Kentucky Dam. Found visitor center is closed due to construction. The new 110 foot by 1200 foot lock when completed will be a great improvement in addition to the existing 600 foot lock. Average waiting time for tows is 6.5 hours because most of the tows have to be split to get through the present lock. Products from 20 states pass through this lock enroute from the Tennessee River into the Ohio and Mississippi River. The Kentucky Lock & Dam was built between 1938 and 1944. It is the lowermost of the nine dams on the Tennessee River owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority that was created in 1933.
Kentucky Lake created by this dam is 184 miles long which is the largest artificial lake in the Eastern United States. The dam is 8422 feet long. It is the longest on the Tennessee River and longest in the TVA system. The dam is 206 feet high but over half the dam is submerged by water. Depending on water depth the locks lift raises and lowers vessels up to 75 feet.
Keith and Maryann with Tennessee river on the downstream side of the dam. It is 22 river miles f
rom here to the Ohio River.Dream Manor waiting in slip at Green Turtle Bay.
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