US Army Corps of Engineers
Rock Island District
Illinois Waterway

MAN AND THE ILLINOIS RIVER
From Chicago to St. Louis, from dugout canoes to modern towboats, the Illinois River continues to flow in time and space. For thousands of years the Illinois has influenced the lives of many. You are invited to experience this influence by exploring this important water highway.

NATIVE AMERICANS
The first people to live along the banks of the Illinois were the native Americans of 7,000 years ago. Even then the river had many uses. In their dugout canoes, they traveled the Illinois for commerce, trapping the numerous beaver on its shores and migrating from summer to winter settlements. The river also supplied fish and game that lived in or around the river.

FRENCH FUR TRADERS
The first Europeans to enter the Illinois River Valley were the French fur traders of the late 1600s. Joliet, and later La Salle, established a fur trading post system in both the Illinois and Mississippi River valleys. The French traded man-made items for furs, primarily the beaver pelt, with the local Indian tribes. The Illinois was used as a commercial route whereby these pelts were started on their way to becoming hats, coats, and vests in Europe. To speed this process, Joliet suggested a water route linking the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico using the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.

[^]

A NEW BREED OF FRONTIERSMAN: THE PRAIRIE FARMER
In the 1830s a new frontiersman entered the Illinois River Valley, the prairie farmer. These pioneers turned the Illinois prairie sod into fields of wheat, barley and sorghum. But there was a problem getting the grains to the Eastern markets, where the farmer could earn three times as much in profit.

I & M CANAL
The transportation problem of the prairie farmer was solved with the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Completed in 1848, the canal ran from Chicago to La Salle, Ill., with 15 locks. The man-made canal was maintained by feeder canals from local tributaries. Freight moved in wooden barges pulled by mules and horses. The canal led to the growth of Chicago as the nation's greatest inland port and the expansion of all canal towns from Joliet south to Peoria, Ill.

[^]

THE DEMISE OF THE ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL
The canal's success was shortlived as shipper's turned to railroads and the barges became too big for the canal. Closed in 1933, the canal is enjoying revitalization as a National Heritage Corridor.

For more information on the I&M Canal,
please visit the following site:
http://www.canalcor.org/

For pictures of the I&M Canal,
you could visit the following site:
http://www.lewisu.edu/imcanal/photoarchive/index.htm?col=1

STEAMBOATING ON THE ILLINOIS RIVER
Steamboats provided the link from the I&M Canal to St. Louis, Mo., on the Mississippi, with Peoria being one of the busiest steam ports in the Midwest in the 1860s. Over 76 steamboats docked at Peoria wharfs in 1858. In 1918, the wreck of the COLUMBIA killed 87 people, leading to calls for a deep navigable waterway in Illinois.

[^]

THE MODERN CONNECTING LINK: THE ILLINOIS WATERWAY
The modern day Illinois Waterway was begun by the state of Illinois in 1920. By 1929, the state had finished just two-thirds of the work and only had 20 percent of the money left to complete the project. In 1930 the entire project was turned over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who resumed construction and opened the waterway on June 22, 1933. The waterway, with later additions, consists of eight navigation dams and locks that form the "connecting link" between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Commercial traffic continues go grow, with grain, coal and petroleum products as the leading commodities moving on this water highway.

[^]

THE NAVIGATION DAM
On the Illinois Waterway, eight dams hold back water to form eight "pools" very similar to long narrow lakes. These dams raised the water level enough to accommodate the large tows that require nine feet of water to operate. This arrangement creates a "stairway of water" that drops 163 feet from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.

[^]

THE NAVIGATION LOCK
To get from one pool level or "step" to another, a navigation lock is used as a sort of "water elevator." Based on the principle that water always seeks a lower level, water is raised and lowered using underground tunnels and filling and emptying valves. No pumping is required in the process.

For a towboat going downstream, the lock is first filled by opening the filling valve. The emptying valve and upper and lower gates are closed, so the level of the chamber rises to the upstream level. The upper gate opens and the tow moves in.

To lower the towboat, the gates are closed behind it, the filling valve is closed, and the emptying valve is opened. The pressure of the higher water in the lock drains to the downstream level in minutes.

The lower gates are then opened and the towboat moves out on the lower water level, having completed one of eight drops, a tow can complete using the Illinois Waterway. For a towboat going upstream, the process is reversed.

[^]

THE DROWNING MACHINE
The navigation dams appear to be tranquil sites on the Illinois River. However, anyone who gets too close to the dam will be drawn into the "Drowning Machine." As the main current goes through the dam down to the bottom of the river it re-circulates back upstream to create a backwash, known as the "Hydraulic Effect." Anyone who gets into this area has little chance of survival. The propeller of a boat is ineffective in this area, because it can't "bite" into the foamy water. To avoid getting caught in the hydraulic, boats must stay at least 400 feet away from the downstream side of the dam, and 600 feet away from the upstream side of the dam.

For more information about safety around dams, please visit the following site:
LOCKS and the RIVER Brochure

For more information about water safety,
please visit this site:
WATER SAFETY Brochure

[^]

VISIT Our Visitor Center!!!
At the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center, you can view commercial and recreational boats locking through Starved Rock Lock. Exhibits and a theater explain the transportation history of the navigation system. The center is located off I-80 near Utica, Illinois. Exit south on Route 178 (Exit #81) and proceed thru Utica to Dee Bennett Road. Turn east and follow the signs two miles to the Center.

Information concerning seasonal hours of operation and procedures for arranging special tours and programs can be obtained by contacting:

Illinois Waterway Visitor Center
950 North 27th Road, Route 1
Ottawa, IL 61350
Phone: 815-667-4054
Fax: 815-667-4954
Email: MVROD-IA-VC@usace.army.mil

You can also visit us on the web at: http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/Recreation/default.cfm?aid=27

[^]

COME VISIT Our Sites! ! !
In addition to the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center at Starved Rock Lock and Dam, there are seven other sites for you to visit. Visiting hours at the locks are 6 a.m. until sunset all year long. The Illinois Waterway Visitor Center is open daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Days.

Here are directions to the Corps of Engineers sites along the Illinois Waterway:

T.J. O'BRIEN- In South Chicago at 130th Street and the Calumet River. From I-80 take I-94 north to 130th Street east. The lock entrance is on the right just after the generating plant and before the next bridge.

LOCKPORT- In Lockport on west 16th Street. From I-80 exit onto Briggs Street. Take Briggs Street north to the dead end. Turn left onto Division Street. Cross over 171 and take the right fork. Follow the canal to the left until you reach the lock parking lot.

BRANDON ROAD- Located west of Joliet, Ill., near Rockdale, Ill., on Route 6. From I-80 exit Larkin Avenue. Proceed south 1 mile, turn left on Route 6, and continue 1 ½ miles to the lock.

DRESDEN ISLAND- Located southeast of Morris, Illinois Dresden Collins Road. From I-80 take the Morris Exit (Route 47) south through Morris across the Illinois River to Pine Bluff Road. Turn left on Pine Bluff Road and proceed seven miles to a stop sign. Turn left at the stop sign on Dresden - Collins Road, and continue three miles to the sign at the lock access road.

MARSEILLES- Located southwest of Marseilles, Ill., near Illini State Park. From I-80, take the Marseilles exit south through Marseilles and cross the Illinois River. Turn left into Illini State Park and proceed west following the lock signs through the park for 2 ½ miles.

STARVED ROCK- Located southeast of Utica, Ill., on Dee Bennett Road. From I-80, exit at Illinois Route 178 (exit 81). Proceed south for three miles through Utica and turn left on Dee Bennett. Proceed two miles east to the facility.

PEORIA- Located southeast of Peoria, Ill., on Wesley Road. From I-474 exit at the Pekin/Creve Coeur exit onto Main Street. Travel south on Main Street to the second intersection and turn right on Wesley Road. Follow Wesley Road to the lock and dam.

LA GRANGE- Located 15 mile from Mt. Sterling, Ill., on La Grange Lock Road. From Route 24 in Mt. Sterling, take Route 102 east to Versailles, Ill. Turn left on La Grange Lock Road at the lock sign and proceed eight miles to the facility.