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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/13321| Title: | Navigation conditions at Oliver Lock and Dam, Black Warrior River Project : hydraulic model investigation |
| Authors: | United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Mobile District. Wooley, Ronald T. |
| Keywords: | Black Warrior River Alabama Navigation conditions Oliver Lock and Dam Hydraulic structures Design Construction Locks Hydraulic models |
| Publisher: | Hydraulics Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical report (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station) ; HL-89-27. |
| Description: | Technical Report Abstract: William Bacon Oliver Lock and Dam is located on the left descending bank of the Black Warrior River about 346.3 river miles above Mobile, AL, in the corporate Limits of Tuscaloosa, AL. The principal existing structures are a 700-ft-long fixed-crest spillway and a 95- by 460-ft lock. The dam forms a run of the river pool that extends 8.8 miles upstream to Holt Lock and Dam. During high pool elevation and river discharges, tows bypass the lock and navigate over the fixed-crest weir. Oliver Lock has the smallest chamber (95 by 460 ft) on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway, and the present plan of development is to replace the existing lock and dam with a new structure located about 2,300 ft downstream. The replacement structure will provide a 110- by 600-ft lock chamber and an 815-ft-long fixed-crest spillway. A fixed-bed model reproduced about 2.8 miles of the Black Warrior River channel and adjacent overbank area to an undistorted scale of 1:100. The model investigation was concerned with derermining the effects of the proposed structures on navigation through the reach; developing modifications that could be used to improve navigation conditions; establishing the limits for removal of the existing structure; evaluating navigation conditions for tows entering and leaving the lock and approaching the fixed-crest dam with rising, falling, and design headwater rating curves; investigating the effects of the completed project, first-stage cofferdam, and second-stage cofferdam on water-surface slopes through the reach; and investigating the effects on navigation during the construction stages of the project and developing modifications necessary to maintain safe navigation through the reach. Results of the investigation indicated that satisfactory navigation conditions can be established through the reach with all flows tested; however, with higher riverflows and current velocities, certain maneuvers may be required for downbound tows to approach the lock. With the higher riverflows, the alignment of the currents was satisfactory for upbound and downbound tows to approach the fixed-crest dam; however, the drop across the dam could create some difficulties and require considerable power for tows to navigate over the dam. With the first-stage cofferdam in place for construction of the replacement lock, considerable power and maneuvering could be required for upbound tows to move past the cofferdam with riverflows of 30,000 cfs and above. With the second-stage cofferdam in place, a training structure placed in the vicinity of the lower lock approach of the replacement lock will provide satisfactory conditions for tows entering and leaving the lower lock canal with riverflows through 100,000 cfs. |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/13321 |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
