Photo By Kelcy Hanson | Ryan Randall, Lock and Dam Repairer, operating a specific saw that is only used to...... read more read more
Two dams on the Illinois Waterway, one in Peoria and the other in Beardstown, Illinois, are distinctly unique from other dams in the United States. These structures are two of only a few wicket dams left in the country and they differ from most in that they are constructed of timber, wooden materials.
“Back in the day, before they were using concrete and steel to make dams, they used wickets. It’s kind of old school and that’s what I appreciate about it and there’s not many people around that still make them,” said Ryan Randall, Lock and Dam Repairer for the Illinois Waterway Maintenance Crew.
Both structures are Chanoine wicket dams, invented by Frenchman Jacques Chanoine. The dam at Peoria Lock and Dam was constructed in 1936 and opened in 1939. The overall length of the dam is 570 feet, 432 feet of that being 108 removable wickets. Each of the wickets in Peoria are 3.75 feet wide and 16.42 feet high. The dam at LaGrange Lock and Dam in Beardstown was also constructed in 1936 and opened in 1939. The LaGrange Dam is slightly longer, 1,066 feet with the wicket section being 436 feet, containing 109 wickets. The size of the wickets are 3.75 feet wide by 14.92 feet high.
Like all navigation dams, their purpose is to control and maintain water levels to allow commercial navigation to operate on the river. The wicket dams were installed in locations that frequently experience high water levels and the dam was not always needed to control the level. When the water is high, the wickets are mechanically lowered into the water and lay on the bottom of the river. This situation, known as “open pass,” allows the river to flow naturally and vessels to navigate the river without having to lock through. Barges can easily pass over the wickets with no complications, significantly decreasing travel time.
“Each of the wickets are made from untreated oak. Oak is a harder wood and they last a long time being submerged underwater. The wood absorbs the water and they swell up a little and that actually helps preserve the wicket, more than you would think,” Randall continued when speaking about the process of building the wickets. “We use a lot of blueprints to cut and build the new wickets. The process from start to finish takes one to two days to build one wicket. That includes cutting the timbers and then taking them to another area to add the hardware.”
Due to the way wicket dams are designed, operations can be more dangerous compared to other types of dams. The wickets are hinged on the bottom of the riverbed and must be raised or lowered manually, using a specialized boat and large-scale equipment, as water levels change.
Typically, this process needs to be done in less-than-ideal weather conditions or in the middle of the night. Water levels on the Illinois Waterway can change rapidly, which means adjustments can be needed with little notice for the lock crew.
Making repairs to the wicket dams comes with an increased risk, compared to other dams in the District.
“Tainters are raised out of the water for maintenance. For wickets, we send divers into the water to do the maintenance so there’s a human element added right there making wickets more dangerous,” explained Bryan Smith, Derrick Boat Operator and Dive Supervisor.
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2022 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 431463 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 279 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Wickets- History Still Being Built, by Kelcy Hanson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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