Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Locks

The 10 locks on the Waterway raise or lower barges and boats a total of 341 feet, the difference in elevation between the two ends of the waterway.

Tennessee-Tombigbee Locks

Howell Heflin Lock and Dam

Howell Heflin Lock and Dam – Mile 266.0

• Lift of 36 feet
• 2nd highest lift on the Tenn-Tom
• Located in Greene County near Gainesville, AL
• 6,400-acre Gainesville Lake
• Cost $32.3 million
• 8 recreation areas

The Heflin Lock and Dam is the southernmost structure on the Tenn-Tom. From here, commercial and recreation vessels reach the connecting Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway some 53 miles away on an improved Tombigbee River and the impoundment created by the Demopolis Lock and Dam. From Demopolis, it is 215 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. Its impoundment, Gainesville Lake, is 40 miles long and covers 6,400 acres. The lock and dam is named in honor of former U.S. Senator, Howell Heflin, of Alabama.

Tom Bevill Lock and Dam

Tom Bevill Lock and Dam – Mile 306.8

• Lift of 27 feet
• Located in Pickens County near Pickensville, AL
• 8,300-acre Aliceville Lake
• Cost $45 million
• 6 recreation areas

Bevill Dam impounds the 8,300-acre Aliceville Lake. The project cost $45 million. It is named in honor of former Alabama Congressman Tom Bevill. Bevill chaired the congressional committee in the U.S. House of Representatives that approved  the funding for the Tenn-Tom during its construction. Here is located one of the waterway’s most impressive and recognizable sights, the Tom Bevill Visitors’ Center. This majestic replica of a southern antebellum plantation home sits on the waterway near the MV. Montgomery, a retired paddle wheel river work boat. Both are open to the public.

John C. Stennis Lock and Dam

John C. Stennis Lock and Dam – Mile 334.7

• Lift of 27 feet
• Located in Lowndes County near Columbus, MS
• 8,900-acre Columbus Lake
• Cost $44.7 million
• 7 recreation areas

This structure was relocated about four miles from its original site to prevent the flooding and loss of Plymouth Bluff, the site of an early settlement and a unique geological formation. One of the waterway’s two environmental centers is located here. The center, operated by the Mississippi University of Women, offers unique educational opportunities in the earth sciences and is available to the general public. The lock and dam is named in honor of one of Mississippi’s greatest leaders of the 20th century, former U.S. Senator John C. Stennis. Columbus Lake is the largest of the ten impoundments making up the Tenn-Tom, some 23 miles long and over 8,900 acres in size.

Aberdeen Lock and Dam

Aberdeen Lock and Dam – Mile 357.5

• Lift of 27 feet
• Located in Monroe County near Aberdeen, MS
• 4,000-acre Aberdeen Lake
• Cost $43.3 million
• 4 recreation areas

Named after the city of Aberdeen, the dam forms a 13.5-mile long lake covering over 4,000 acres. The project cost $43 million. This and the following three locks and dams make up the so-called River Section where the waterway generally follows the course of the Tombigbee River.

Amory Lock and Dam

Amory Lock  – Mile 371.1

• Lift of 30 feet
• Located in Monroe County near Amory, MS
• 914-acre lake
• Cost $23.3 million
• 1 recreation area

Named after the nearby Town of Amory, the lock is the southern most facility in the Chain of Lakes section of Tenn-Tom Amory Lock. It has a lift of 30 feet. The 914-acre lake caused by the lock was the site in December 1984 where the last remaining section of the navigation channel was removed. After 12 years of construction, this allowed the “mixing” of waters from the two river systems and permitted unimpeded flow of commerce through the waterway.

Glover Wilkins Lock and Dam

Glover Wilkins Lock  – Mile 376.3

• Lift of 25 feet
• Located in Monroe County near Smithville, MS
• 718-acre lake
• Cost $33.5 million
• 2 recreation areas

The Lock is named after a former administrator of the Tenn-Tom Waterway Development Authority, who was instrumental in making the waterway a reality.

Fulton Lock and Dam

Fulton Lock  – Mile 391.0

• Lift of 25 feet
• Located in Itawamba County near Fulton, MS
• 1,643-acre lake
• Cost $28.3 million
• 2 recreation areas

Its lake is the largest in the Chain of Lakes section at 1,643 acres and is the setting for the Whitten Historical Center, a major attraction of the waterway.

John Rankin Lock and Dam

John Rankin Lock  – Mile 398.4

• Lift of 30 feet
• Located in Itawamba County, MS
• 1,992-acre lake
• Cost $43.9 million
• 2 recreation areas scheduled

Rankin Lock is named in honor of former Congressman John Rankin of Mississippi, one of the waterway’s earliest champions in the Congress

G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Lock and Dam

G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Lock  – Mile 406.7

• Lift of 30 feet
• Located in Itawamba County, MS
• 851-acre lake
• Cost $47.3 million
• 1 recreation area scheduled

Montgomery Lock is located in northern Itawamba County, Mississippi and named after a former U.S. Representative from Mississippi.

Whitten Lock and Dam

Whitten Lock and Dam  – Mile 411.9

• Lift of 84 feet
• 4th highest single lift lock in the nation
• Located in Tishomingo County near Belmont, MS
• 6,600-acre lake
• Cost $75 million
• 12 recreation areas scheduled

Whitten Lock and Dam is the northernmost lock on the Tenn-Tom. The Lock raises and lowers barges and pleasure boats 84 feet, the difference in the elevation levels of the water above and below  the dam. This is  the fourth highest single lift lock in the nation. The dam forms a 6,600-acre lake that joins the so-called Divide Cut canal, and ultimately connects the Tenn-Tom with the Tennessee River. The structure, named in honor of Jamie Whitten, a former Congressman from Mississippi who served over 50 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, cost $75 million.

Minimizing Environmental Impacts

Five locks make up the portion of the waterway that is called the Chain of Lakes or Canal section. These locks form relatively small lakes (most are less than 1,000 acres) to help minimize environmental impacts. A levee along the western side of these impoundments preserved the natural conditions of the upper reach of the Tombigbee River by preventing its inundation. These locks include the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Lock, John Rankin Lock, Fulton Lock, Glover Wilkins Lock, and Amory Lock.