Larry the Lock by Pittsburgh District, US Army Corps of Engineers

Larry Daugherty

the Lock Written And Illustrated By Ashley

Produced By U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Pittsburgh District AnStorybookInteractive

Hi everyone, I am Larry the lock. My technical name is Allegheny River Lock and Dam 2 but all my friends call me Larry. I live in Pittsburgh, across from the neighborhoods of Sharpsburg, Aspinwall and Etna. 1

I have an exciting job that few people know about. Some people think I help prevent floods. I am actually a giant elevator! Well, a giant water elevator. I was built where the Allegheny River has a significant drop in water levels, so I help boats and other watercrafts go from one water level to the other smoothly.

Typically, I lift and lower boats by 11 feet, depending on which way the river Traffic is going. 4

Here’s how I do it. First, boats go into my chamber. I either fill up or empty water out, depending on which way they are traveling. If a tugboat is going downstream, I open the valve near my front gate and slowly let water out. When I do this, the water in my chamber lowers, bringing the boat down.

6 Chamber

The water from the culvert slowly fills my chamber, like a bathtub raising the boat until it can smoothly sail out.

I have two valves on this side, one in my wall and one on the ground. The gate valve functions the same way on both sides, but the ground valve lets water in through an underground pipe called a ‘culvert.’

If a boat travels upstream, I open the valves near my back gate.

This process to fill or empty my water takes about 20 minutes. Hey kids! Color me in!8

The water that goes out of my chamber get released into a ‘boil.’ The boil causes a significant area of undercurrents below the dam. that can be very dangerous for someone to sail into. I use the water to fill my chamber from the pool that surrounds me. The pool is a large area of calm water upstream from me. My pool is about 7.8 miles long.

Boil Pool10

Every day I see something different, But I see a lot of tugboats transporting barges, which are big, long, flat-bottomed boats filled with trade goods. Trade goods are things like coal, rocks and minerals. Barges can’t move independently, so a tugboat has to help them.

12 Barges Tugboat

One tugboat can push up to 15 barges at a time. A single barge can hold the same amount of material as 58 big trucks. 14

I also help recreational boats, ships and smaller watercraft such as kayaks. Sometimes even the Gateway Clipper comes through. In addition, people often use my pool for fishing and swimming near the shore.

I don’t do all this work by myself, though. Thankfully, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District manages me and has many great people working at my facility.

I have a lock master who is in charge of all the critical decisions.

I have lock operators who help me when I have to raise or lower the water in my chamber. They are the ones who open my gates and make sure everyone stays safe on their boats. Sometimes when I need repairs, civil engineers from downtown and other parts of the country will come and fix me.

I need quite a bit of attention because of my age. I opened for use in 1934, almost 90 years ago! Some neighboring locks were built in the early 1920s and we still get the job done! 19

Being a lock is fun. I help people safely navigate the river every day, so they can get from one place to another in a more eco- and cost-friendly way than driving. I hope everyone remembers to be safe on the water, so make sure you always stay out of my restricted zones and wear a lifejacket near the water!

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Meet the Author Ashley Daugherty has always had a love for art and reading. While pursuing a Bachelor's of Fine Art degree in graphic design she had the chance to work as an intern at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District. Ashley wanted to make the mission of a lock more understandable, especially to children. Therefore, Larry the lock was created. Ashley hopes this book will be used to help children and adults gain a better understanding of locks and their importance in our region.