Corps to allow public access to Barkley Navigation Lock

GRAND RIVERS, KY, UNITED STATES

08.25.2014

Story by Bill Peoples 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District

GRAND RIVERS, Ky. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District announced today that it is offering public access to Barkley Navigation Lock. The lock is now accessible to visitors seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sept. 30, 2014.

The Corps restricted access to the lock following Sept. 11, 2001, as a security precaution, but district officials now support allowing the public into these areas to foster better community relations and to let people see how the lock facilitates movement of commerce within the U.S. Inland Waterway System.

“After more than a decade of significant restrictions, we are excited to be able to reopen the locks to the public during daylight hours,” said Lt. Col. John L. Hudson, Nashville District commander. “We are committed to balancing the need for security with the interest people have in visiting the facilities and watching boats lock through the dam, as they move up and down the Cumberland River.”

Barkley Lock is one of four locks located on the 300-plus navigable miles in the Cumberland River Basin. It is a single chamber measuring 110-feet wide and 800-feet long. During normal lake levels, the lock will lift a boat 57-foot from the river below the dam to the lake above the dam. The average tonnage of all commodities transported through the lock is over seven million tons, which equates to approximately 4,047 loaded barges and 4816 empty barges in 2013. The major commodities are coal, sand and petroleum. There are approximately 513 lockages for recreational traffic each year.

Barkley Lock is open to pass navigation traffic 20 hours-a-day, 365 days a year. The lock is located at 758 Barkley Dam Road, Grand Rivers, KY, 42045. It is also located at mile 32.8 of the Cumberland River in Livingston County. Public restrooms are available during visiting hours. For more information please contact the lockmaster at 270-362-4222 or Barkley Lake Resource Manager’s Office at 270-362-4236.

(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. The public can also visit Lake Barkley’s Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lakebarkley.)

• Date Taken: 08.25.2014
• Date Posted: 08.25.2014 16:03
• Story ID: 140315
• Location: GRAND RIVERS, KY, US