Ballard Locks

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, or Ballard Locks, is a complex of locks at the west end of Salmon Bay in Seattle, Washington's Lake Washington Ship Canal, between the neighborhoods of Ballard to the north and Magnolia to the south. The Ballard Locks carry more boat traffic than any other lock in the U.S., and the locks, along with the fish ladder and the surrounding Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Gardens, attract more than one million visitors annually, making it one of Seattle's top tourist attractions. The construction of the locks profoundly reshaped the topography of Seattle and the surrounding area, lowering the water level of Lake Washington and Lake Union by 8.8 feet (2.7 m), leaving existing piers high and dry, adding miles of new waterfront land, and reversing the flow of rivers. The Locks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and have been designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

As early as 1854, there was discussion of building a navigable connection between Lake Washington and Puget Sound for the purpose of transporting logs, milled lumber, and fishing vessels. Thirteen years later, the United States Navy endorsed a canal project, which included a plan for building a naval shipyard on Lake Washington. In 1891 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started planning the project. Some preliminary work was begun in 1906, and work began in earnest five years later under the command of Hiram M. Chittenden. The delays in canal planning and construction resulted in the US Navy building the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, which is located across the Sound from Seattle.

In early 1909, the Washington State Legislature appropriated $250,000, placed under the control of the Corps of Engineers, for excavation of the canal between Lake Union and Lake Washington. In June 1910, the US Congress gave its approval for the lock, on the condition that the rest of the canals along the route be paid for locally. Construction was then delayed by legal challenges, mainly by mill owners in Ballard who feared property damage and loss of waterfront in Salmon Bay, and by Lake Washington property owners. Under Major James. B. Cavanaugh, Chittenden's replacement as Seattle District Commander, construction of the Ballard, or Government, Locks connecting Salmon Bay to Shilshole Bay began in 1911, proceeding without further controversy or legal entanglements. In July 1912, the Locks gates were closed for the first time, turning Salmon Bay from saltwater to freshwater. The first ship passed through the locks on August 3, 1916. On August 25, 1916, the temporary dam at Montlake was breached. During the following three months, Lake Washington drained, lowering the water level by 8.8 ft (2.7 m) and drying up more than 1,000 acres (400 ha) of wetlands, as well as drying up the Black River and cutting off the Cedar River salmon run. The Cedar River was rerouted into Lake Washington to provide sufficient water flow for operating the Locks. Additionally the White River was rerouted into the Puyallup River. The Cedar and White Rivers both originally flowed into the Duwamish causing frequent flooding. The rerouting of the rivers opened up huge lowland areas for development but significantly disrupted the Duwamish salmon runs. To rectify this problem, salmon runs were reintroduced allowing the fish to migrate through the locks. The locks officially opened for boat traffic on May 8, 1917. The total cost of the project to that point was $3.5 million, with $2.5 million having come from the federal government and the rest from local governments. To allow for the intended boat traffic, three bridges were removed along the ship canal route, at Latona Avenue, Fremont, Stone Wa

Dam data from Wikidata (CC0) plus curated additions. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).