ST. JOHNS LOCK FACTS
Size ... 600 feet long, 84 feet wide, 14 feet over sills.
Location ... 8 miles southwest of Palatka, off SR 19.
Purpose ... To raise barges, boats from St. Johns River level, to Rodman Reservoir level, or vice versa.
Lift for boats ... 20 feet.
Type of Construction ... Concrete and Steel.
Construction Started ... December 1964.
Water Capacity of Look ... 8, 500, 000 gallons.
Source of Water ... Oklawaha River creating Rodman Reservoir.
Time to Transit Lock ... Approximately 15 minutes.
Type Gates ... Steel miter gates. Each leaf of westerly gates weights 45 tons, easterly gate leaves weigh 87 tons.
Filling and emptying lock... By gravity flow through 10-foot-square tunnels along length of both sides of lock chamber.
[Map displaying the above]
VIEW OF RODMAN RESERVOIR
LOOKING SOUTH
PROGRAM
Star Spangled Banner... U.S. Navy Band
Invocation... Dr. John Pelham Putnam Ministerial Association
Introduction of Platform Guests By Master of Ceremonies... L.C. Ringhaver. Chairman. Cana; Authority of Florida
Welcome.... Keith Steen, President, Putname County Chamber of Commerce
Remarks... Honorable Don Fuqua, Second Congressional District
Remarks... Honorable Tom Adams, Florida Secretary of State
Construction Aspects... LTG William F. Cassidy
Chief of Engineers
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Introduction of Keenote Speaker... Honorable Charles E. Bennett, Third Congressional District
Dedication Address.... Honorable Edward P. Boland,
Congessman of Massachusetts
* At the conclusion of the dedication address a ribbon across the westerly gates of the St. Johns Lock will be cut with a large pair of scissors.
Boaters will then be locked through the new facility in both directions.
A free fishfry will be served immediately after the boat locking exercise.
Program Arrangements by the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, City of Palatka and Putnam County Commission.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Design, construction and operation of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal are the responsibilities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Presently under consturction or completed are the St. Johns Lock, Rodman Dam and Spillway, Eureka Lock and Dam, the Inglis Lock and related work and 25 miles of canal excavation. Remaining to be palced under construction are the R. N. Dosh Lock at Silver Springs, the Dunnellon Lock, the Inglis Spillway, the railroad bridge at Dunnellon, 9 highway bridges and 82 miles of canal excavation. Cost of work under way or completed is $36 million.
Army Engineers are assigned by Congress to design and construct public works projects of this type. Upon completion the Canal will be operated by your Corps of Engineers.
LAND FOR BARGE CANAL
Acquisition of lands needed for construction of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal is the responsibility of the Canal Authority of Florida, an agency created by the State Legislature in 1961.
Composed of a five-man board appointed by the Governor, the Canal Authority works under the guidance of the Governor and Cabinet.
As official local sponsoring agency, the Authority's major responsibility is acquiring the rights of way needed by the Corps of Engineers for timely construction. Working closely with the Corps, the Authority staff developes acquisition schedules, completes title searches, land surveys, appraisals and conducts negotiations with landowners.
To date some 70 per cent of the rights of way are now under control of the Canal Authority or have been turned over to the Engineers for clearing and construction.
Listen: The Latin Program
