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Tennessee River, Mile 259.4, Wilson Lock, Main Chamber Closure
- Date Reported: Sep 27, 2024
- Reporter: Waterway Guide Staff
- Source: USACE Nashville
- Description:
On Wednesday, Sep. 25, 2024, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District conducted a dive inspection of Wilson Lock on the Tennessee River that revealed cracks in the lock gates on both land and river sides. To prevent further damage to the gates and possible loss of the lock's functionality, and in coordination with the Tennessee Valley Authority, the district has closed the Wilson Lock main chamber until further notice. As of 27 September 2024, at 0600, the auxiliary lock will be opened and is available for navigational use. More information will be released as it becomes available.
- Lat / Lon: N 34° 48.315' / W 087° 37.577'
DISCLAIMER: Waterway Guide Media provides Navigation Alerts as a resource for planning purposes only and does not warrant the information included in the postings as accurate. Advice and descriptions contained in the alerts are not for navigation.
3 Boater Comments
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Comment by: Wally & Coco, Coco, on Jun 9, 2025
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 60'
Draft: 5.0'Per the lock-master, they only have two openings a day through the auxiliary lock since the main lock is undergoing repairs. 900 and 1600. Commercial traffic takes precedence. Be at the lock 30 minutes prior.
View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer
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Comment by: Gary Reed, Unwinding, on Sep 28, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 58'
Draft: 5.5'Update to previous post …
We were able to lock down midday through both Wheeler and Wilson. Lock Operators were very engaging and got us down ahead of tow approaching Wheeler and held lock at Wilson for us. This was with 5 tows below Wilson and 2 tows above Wilson. You must communicate with both Operators to schedule.
Wilson Auxiliary Lock is a two chamber lock. Two pins only in lower chamber on LBD. Upper chamber is primarily a tie on RBD. Only one pin working in upper chamber on LDB and it's only 50 feet from miter sill.
Lock Operator told me significant cracks in lower door assembly operating mechanism. 7 foot crack in one. He has heard the most optimistic date for returning the Main Lock to operation is first of the year!! He further stated that locking "doubles" (15 barges) through could take up to 24 hours given the lock size (60 x 300) and double chambers.View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer
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Comment by: Gary Reed, Unwinding, on Sep 27, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 58'
Draft: 5.5'This is a major outage on the Tennessee. Wilson Auxiliary Lock is a two stage lock. Large tows (~ 15 tows) are taking extremely long time to lock up/down. Lock has been down due to high winds today (9/27). As of this evening (9/17 - 7 PM), there are five (5) tows waiting to lock up and one (1) tow waiting to lock down. Even after this "log jam", Lock Operator this evening stated this would be an ongoing issue until main chamber returned to service and no timetable has been established. We are at Joe Wheeler looking to lock down asap. We may be here for a few days. Plan accordingly! I would certainly advise to talk to Wilson Lock before locking down at Wheeler Lock. With respect to upbound, staging at Florence Harbor is an option if they have space.
View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer
