Dams on the Mississippi
Lock and Dam No. 8 at Genoa, 679.2 miles above the mouth of the Ohio River, is set on a foundation of sand, gravel and broken rock. It has a 110 foot wide chamber and an 11 foot lift from the lower to the upper pool. Construction of the dam cost $6,702,500 and affected 18,591 acres of land. In May 1937 the battery of fifteen gates closed and the Genoa Dam opened for navigation. This dam is one of 26 locks and dams built by the United States Government to improve transportation from Minneapolis to the mouth of the Missouri River. The project, approved by Congressional Act on August 30, 1935, was largely completed by 1938. In the next fifteen years river traffic increased from 458 to 2,636 million tons.
Marker is on Great River Road (State Highway 35) 0.3 miles south of Main Street (State Highway 56), on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
