NR 15-018: Cheatham Lock accessible to visitors seven days a week

Published May 28, 2015
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is offering public access to Cheatham Navigation Lock located on the Cumberland River in Ashland City, Tenn. The lock is open to visitors seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now until Sept. 8, 2015.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is offering public access to Cheatham Navigation Lock located on the Cumberland River in Ashland City, Tenn. The lock is open to visitors seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now until Sept. 8, 2015.

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (May 28, 2015) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is offering public access to Cheatham Navigation Lock. The lock is open to visitors seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now until Sept. 8, 2015.

Allowing people to visit the lock enhances community relations and lets people see how the lock facilitates movement of commerce within the U.S. Inland Waterway System.

“We are committed to balancing the need for security with the interest people have in visiting the facilities and watching boats lock through the dam, as they move up and down the Cumberland River,” said Lt. Col. John L. Hudson, Nashville District commander.

Cheatham Lock is one of four locks located on the 300-plus navigable miles in the Cumberland River Basin. It is a single chamber measuring 110-feet wide and 800-feet long. During normal lake levels, the lock will lift a boat 26-foot from the river below the dam to the lake above the dam. The lock releases more than 17 million gallons of water each time it is emptied.

The average tonnage of all commodities transported through Cheatham Lock is 4.5 million tons, which equates to approximately 3,000 full barges. The major commodities are coal, sand and petroleum. There are approximately 3,000 lockages for recreational traffic each year. 

Congress authorized the project in 1946 as a navigation project to enhance the development of the Cumberland River Basin. Construction on the Lock began in 1949 and was opened to navigation traffic in August 1951.

The lock is located at 1799 Cheatham Dam Road, Ashland City, TN, 37015-9805, and at mile 148.7 of the Cumberland River in Cheatham County. Public restrooms are available during visiting hours. For more information please contact the Cheatham Lake Resource Manager’s Office at 615-792-5697.

(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. The public can also visit Cheatham Lake’s Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cheathamlake.)
Contact
Bill Peoples
615-736-7161
chief.public-affairs@usace.army.mil
or
Lee Roberts
615-736-7161
chief.public-affairs@usace.army.mil

Release no. 15-018