Hydraulic model study of navigation improvement in the upstream approach to Locks and Dam No. 2, Mississippi River

The 1:72 scale model of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Lock and Dam No. 2 was employed in a feasibility study of a proposed dike construction project upstream from the dam designed to eliminate high-velocity cross currents in the area of the lock entrance present during higher navigable river flows and thus ease navigation. For the range of flows tested, the elimination of high-velocity cross currents in the immediate vicinity of the lock was achieved only when the proposed dike crest exceeded the pool elevation associated with the given flow. In effect, the feasibility of a submerged dike to impede or directionally change these velocities appeared to be marginal. Regardless of dike crest elevation, the one and two dike configurations seemed preferable to that of three dikes, not only because of obvious economic benefits but because they also served to best distribute the constricted flow that continued to pass through the Buck Island area and enter the navigation channel.