Cannelton Locks and Dam
Cannelton Locks and Dam
The Cannelton Locks and Dam is a dam and two locks on the Ohio River, right on the border between Indiana and Kentucky. It sits about 2 miles southeast of Cannelton, Indiana.
Key facts
- Type: Tainder-gated dam with two locks
- Location: Ohio River, Indiana–Kentucky border
- Operated by: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District
- Nearby town: Cannelton, Indiana
Dam and locks
- Dam: Concrete fixed weir with a tainter-gate system. Main dam section is 1,412 feet long with twelve gates; each gate is 42 feet high and 100 feet long. A second, fixed weir (195 feet) is on the Kentucky side.
- Locks: Two locks on the Indiana side
- Main lock: 110 feet wide by 1,200 feet long
- Auxiliary lock: 110 feet wide by 600 feet long
- Lock operation: Can fill or empty in about 8 minutes
- River levels: Upper pool at 383.0 feet and lower pool at 358.0 feet; lift between pools is 25 feet
- Water for lock operations: About 25 million gallons per lockage
Construction and history
- Locks: Construction began July 1963; operations started December 1966 and completed April 1967
- Dam: Construction began August 1965; dam completed in 1974
- Architect/owner: Built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District
- Wildlife habitat: In 1995, 128 acres of overlook property were transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for wildlife habitat
Hydroelectric power
- AMP project: Plans to divert water to three Kaplan bulb turbines
- Capacity: About 84 MW total (three 28 MW units)
- Expected annual output: Roughly 458 million kilowatt-hours
- Facilities: Intake, powerhouse, and tailrace channel
- Construction timeline: Began 2009; powerhouse work started 2011; full commercial operation reached in June 2016
- Cost: Estimated at $416 million
Why it matters
- The locks reduce travel time for commercial tows by allowing large vessels to pass in a single lockage
- The dam and locks support river navigation and, with the hydroelectric project, add power generation capacity for the region
See also
- List of locks and dams on the Ohio River
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 20:44 (CET).