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Illinois Waterway

 
Dictionary: Illinois Waterway
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A system of rivers and canals of northern and western Illinois, linking Chicago and Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River. It includes the Chicago, Des Plaines, and Illinois rivers.

 

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Illinois Waterway
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Illinois Waterway, 336 mi (541 km) long, linking Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River, N Ill.; an important part of the waterway connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico. The Illinois Waterway extends from the mouth of the Chicago River, on Lake Michigan, following the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the lower Des Plaines River, and the Illinois River to the Mississippi at Grafton, Ill. The Calumet channels branch southeast from the waterway and link it with the Calumet industrial region along the Ill.-Ind. border. Principal cargoes, carried chiefly by barges, are coal, petroleum, and grain products. Recreational areas have been developed along the waterway.

Wikipedia: Illinois Waterway
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The Illinois Waterway at Starved Rock Lock and Dam
Starved Rock Lock and Dam on the Illinois Waterway
T. J. O’Brien Lock and Dam on the Calumet River, which is part of the Illinois Waterway. The dam is located in Burnham, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

The Illinois Waterway system consists of 336 miles of water from the mouth of the Chicago River to the mouth of the Illinois River at Grafton, Illinois. It is a system of rivers, lakes, and canals which provide a shipping connection from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1849. In 1900, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal replaced it and reversed the flow of the Chicago River so it no longer flowed into Lake Michigan. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a 9 foot deep navigation channel in the waterway.[1]

A series of eight locks, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, control water flows from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system. The upper lock, T.J. O'Brien, is on Lake Michigan and the last lock is 90 miles upstream from the Illinois River at the LaGrange lock and dam. The amount of water released into the Illinois often is a sore point among Lake and river interests. When Lake Michigan water levels are high, Lake interests want to increase the flow and when lake levels are low they want to restrict the flow. That is why an international treaty regulates the flow, as Canada also has an interest in Lake Michigan levels which eventually flow into the Lakes Erie, Huron, and Ontario.

Primary cargoes are coal to powerplants, chemicals and petroleum upstream and corn and soybeans downstream primarily for export through New Orleans.

Some winters ice flows, especially around the locks and dams, preclude towboats and barges from navigating the Illinois.

Locks and Dams

Lock/Dam Name Location River Miles
Above Mississippi		 Pool Level
(above sea level)		 Geo Coordinates
T.J. O’Brien L&D Burnham 326 577 feet (176 m) 41°39′7.45″N 87°34′1.24″W / 41.6520694°N 87.5670111°W / 41.6520694; -87.5670111
Lockport L&D Lockport 291 577 feet (176 m) 41°34′8.61″N 88°4′39.29″W / 41.5690583°N 88.0775806°W / 41.5690583; -88.0775806
Brandon Road L&D Joliet 286 539 feet (164 m) 41°30′12.12″N 88°6′11.04″W / 41.5033667°N 88.1030667°W / 41.5033667; -88.1030667
Dresden Island L&D Morris 271 505 feet (154 m) 41°23′52.66″N 88°16′56.42″W / 41.3979611°N 88.2823389°W / 41.3979611; -88.2823389
Marseille L&D Marseilles 245 483 feet (147 m) 41°19′39.77″N 88°45′4.5″W / 41.3277139°N 88.75125°W / 41.3277139; -88.75125
Starved Rock L&D North Utica 231 458 feet (140 m) 41°19′27.93″N 88°59′10.82″W / 41.324425°N 88.9863389°W / 41.324425; -88.9863389
Peoria L&D Peoria 157 440 feet (134 m) 40°37′54.84″N 89°37′29.52″W / 40.6319°N 89.6248667°W / 40.6319; -89.6248667
La Grange L&D Beardstown 80 430 feet (131 m) 39°56′21.21″N 90°32′0.69″W / 39.939225°N 90.533525°W / 39.939225; -90.533525

Schematic

The schematic below illustrates the drop of the Illinois Waterway from 578 feet (176 m) (mean) above sea level at Lake Michigan to 419 feet (128 m) (mean) at the Mississippi River at Grafton, Illinois. The eight locks and dams (L&D) on the waterway provide the lift for traffic along the waterway.

Schematic of the Illinois Waterway from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan

Notes

  1. ^ United States Army Corps of Engineers. "Chapter 6. The Illinois Waterway". page 3. June 3, 2005.
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Illinois Waterway".  Read more