The Eisenhower Lock is one of the seven canal locks on the St Lawrence River leg of the St Lawrence Seaway.[1] This lock provides a 38 foot lift for ships heading upstream.[2] It is one of two locks located near Massena, New York.

The lock was constructed to bypass the portion of the St Lawrence River known as the Long Sault. The US Army Corps of Engineers planned and supervised the construction.[3] Actual construction was performed by Peter Kiewit Sons Co., Morrison-Knudsen Co., Perini Corp., Utah Construction Co., and Walsh Construction Co.[4][5]

The lock was originally named the "Robinson Bay Lock" and was renamed after President Dwight Eisenhower after his term was over. The lock, and the nearby Bertrand H. Snell Lock are part of the Wiley-Dondero Canal. Construction was complicated by the need to not interrupt the waterflow to nearby hydro-electric installations.

The St. Lawrence Seaway was dedicated on 26 June 1959 at a ceremony in Montreal. Key speakers were President Dwight Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II.[6][7] The following day there was a second dedication ceremony at the Eisenhower Lock. Key attendees were Queen Elizabeth II, Vice President Richard Nixon and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.[8][9]

In 1972 a tanker, the MV Venus, exploded while transiting the lock.[10]

On June 18, 2015, the cruise ship Saint Laurent collided with the lock, causing it to be drained, and closed for almost two days.[11][12][13][14]

References

  1. ↑ Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System Map, accessed 2009-07-05
  2. ↑ Ernest Albert John Davies. "Major inland waterways of North America". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  3. ↑ William H. Becker (1959). "From the Atlantic to the Great Lakes: A History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Lawrence Seaway" (PDF). US Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  4. ↑ "St. Lawrence Seaway's Construction Grandeur". Historical Construction Equipment Association. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  5. ↑ William H. Becker. "From the Atlantic to the Great Lakes" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Remarks at the Formal Opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway". The American Presidency Project. p. 1. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "QUEEN ELIZABETH AND EISENHOWER DEDICATE SEAWAY". The New York Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Throwback Thursday: Queen Elizabeth, delayed by fog, visits Massena in 1959". Northern NY. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Queen Elizabeth, with Prince Philip, toured St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959". Watertown Daily Times and Northern New York Newspapers. p. 1. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Explosions on the MV Venus Kill Master [sic]" (PDF). Proceedings of the Marine Safety Council. November 1974. p. 207. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  11. ↑ Aiswarya Lakshmi (2015-06-22). "Tundra Aground in St. Lawrence Seaway". Marine Link. Retrieved 2015-06-22. The 185 meter long drybulk vessel MV Tundra (30,892dwt, built 2009) owned by Canfornav, part of the Canadian Forest Navigation Group, has run aground overnight on the St. Lawrence Seaway at Lancaster, Ontario in Canada.
  12. ↑ "Montreal's Saint Laurent cruise ship hits lock en route to Toronto". CBC News. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-22. Nineteen injured passengers and three injured crew members had to be removed from the ship with the help of fire officials late last night. All of the injuries appeared to be minor, according to FleetPro Passenger Ship Management, the company that manages the ship.
  13. ↑ "Lock traffic on track". Trade Wind News. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  14. ↑ Theresa Norton Masek (2015-06-22). "Haimark Cancels June 26 Saint Laurent Departure". Travel Pulse News. Archived from the original on 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-06-22. Haimark Line is operating the 210-passenger Saint Laurent on a long-term charter from FleetPro, the ship's management company. It is now operating its inaugural season in New England, the Great Lakes and Maritime Canada through the fall foliage season. From late fall to early spring 2016, the Saint Laurent is scheduled to operate in the Caribbean, Central and South America.

44°58′46″N 74°50′58″W / 44.97937°N 74.84956°W / 44.97937; -74.84956

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