Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (popularly known as the Tenn-Tom) is a 234 mile (377 km) artificial waterway that provides a connecting link between the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers. The waterway begins at Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River, then flows southward through northeast Mississippi and west Alabama, finally connecting with the established Warrior-Tombigbee navigation system at Demopolis, Alabama.
After 12 years of construction, the waterway and its seventeen public ports and terminals opened to commercial traffic in January 1985. In addition to the original 110,000 acres (445 km²) of land acquired for the construction and operation of the project, another 88,000 acres (356 km²) have been purchased and managed by the two state conservation agencies for wildlife habitat preservation and mixed use including hunting and parks.
The elevation change between the two ends of the waterway is 341 feet (104 m).
[edit] Divide cut
The divide cut is a 29 mile (47 km) artificial canal that makes the connection to the Tennessee River. It connects Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee to Bay Springs Lake at Mississippi Highway 30.
It is a popular location for boaters on Pickwick Lake to waterski and wakeboard.
[edit] Locks
The waterway is composed of ten locks:
- Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam (named for Jamie L. Whitten); formerly named Bay Springs Lock and Dam - impounds Bay Springs Lake
- G. V. Montgomery Lock (named for Sonny Montgomery); formerly named Lock E
- John Rankin Lock (named for John E. Rankin); formerly named Lock D
- Fulton Lock (Fulton, Mississippi); formerly named Lock C
- Glover Wilkins Lock (located in Smithville, Mississippi; named for Glover Wilkins); formerly named Lock B
- Amory Lock (Amory, Mississippi); formerly named Lock A
- Aberdeen Lock and Dam (Aberdeen, Mississippi) - impounds Aberdeen Lake
- John C. Stennis Lock and Dam (named for John C. Stennis); formerly named Columbus Lock and Dam - impounds Columbus Lake
- Tom Bevill Lock and Dam (named for Tom Bevill); formerly named Aliceville Lock and Dam - impounds Aliceville Lake
- Howell Heflin Lock and Dam (named for Howell Heflin); formerly named Gainesville Lock and Dam - impounds Gainesville Lake
[edit] External links
 The Divide Cut under construction in the early 1980s |
 Amory Lock at Amory, Mississippi |
 A KCS railroad bridge over the waterway at mile 424.8 |
 Detailed map of the Divide Cut (Corps of Engineers) |
