 The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway is a
connecting link between established water transportation routes that serve shippers
and producers in the South and the Midwest as well as deep water ports along the eastern
Gulf of Mexico. This unique feature has already benefited commercial interests in 18
states since it opened for business in 1985.
The 234 - mile waterway begins at its northern end at Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee
River, flows through northeast Mississippi and west Alabama, and connects with
the established Warrior-Tombigbee navigation system at Demopolis, Alabama. From there,
commerce travels northward as far as Port Birmingham, Alabama or south to Mobile, Alabama, and other destinations along the Gulf coast.
The main features of Tenn-Tom are 10 locks and dams and a 29-mile man-made canal, one of
the largest earth moving projects in history. The 10 locks raise or lower barges and boats
a total of 341 feet, the difference in elevation between the two ends of the waterway.
There are some 40 recreation areas that provide easy access to nearly 44,000 acres of
water - related sports and other activities. In addition, marinas are located along the
Tenn-Tom and connecting waterways to meet the needs of local as well as transient boaters.
Over 110,000 acres of land were acquired for the construction and operation of the
project. Some of these lands are available for public hunting. Also, another 88,000 acres, mostly bottomland hardwoods, have been purchased from voluntary sellers and managed by the two state conservation agencies for wildlife
habitat.
After 12 years of construction, the waterway opened to commercial traffic in January
1985. Seventeen public ports and terminals are strategically located within the waterway corridor to
serve shippers' needs.
The following
are brief descriptions of the key features of the Tenn-Tom from north to south:
The Divide Cut
Ten years of work, at a
cost of nearly $500 million, were needed to excavate a canal through the divide that
separates the watersheds of the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers. The deepest cut is  175
feet and the average depth of excavation along the entire 29-mile reach is 50 feet. While
the breadth of the cut at the top of the natural terrain is nearly one-half mile wide, the canal
itself is 280 feet wide and 12 feet deep. The 150-million cubic yards of earth removed
(nearly one and one-half times that excavated in building the Suez Canal) were carefully
deposited and landscaped in the valleys along the canal. This successful disposal of so
much excavated soil solved one of the most potentially serious environmental problems
confronting the construction of the waterway.
Whitten Lock and Dam
Whitten
Lock and Dam, located in Tishomingo County near Belmont, Mississippi, 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 6600
- 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.
The following 5 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 1000 acres in size) 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.
G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Lock
 Montgomery
Lock is located in northern Itawamba County, Mississippi and named after a former U.S.
Representative from Mississippi. The lock has a lift of 30 feet and cost $47 million.
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Rankin Lock has a lift of 30 feet
and is
located in Itawamba County, Mississippi. It is named in honor of former Congressman John
Rankin of Mississippi, one of the waterway’s earliest champions in the Congress.
Named for the nearby Town of Fulton,
Mississippi, the lock has a lift of 25 feet. Its lake is the largest in the Chain of Lakes
section at 1643 acres and is the setting for the Whitten Historical Center, a major
attraction of the waterway.
Wilkins
Lock has a lift of 25 feet and cost $34 million. It is located in northern Monroe County
near Smithville, Mississippi The Lock is named after a former administrator of the
Tenn - Tom Waterway Development Authority, who was instrumental in making the waterway a
reality.
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.
The 27-foot lift lock is located in
Aberdeen, MS, its namesake. 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.
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 27-foot lift lock and dam
is located in Lowndes County, Mississippi near Columbus and 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 8900 acres in size.
Bevill Lock and Dam
is located in Pickens County, Al near the Town of Pickensville. The lock has a lift of 27
feet and the dam impounds the 8300 - 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. 
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. The lock has a lift of 36 feet, the
second highest on the Tenn - Tom. It is located in Greene County near the Town of
Gainesville, Al. 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.
