We toured the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Inner Harbor Navigation Canal lock, which allows for transit between the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Pontchartrain. This is one of the busiest locks in the nation and the most significant one on the Mississippi River. The existing lock is scheduled to be replaced with a lock roughly twice the size. While we visited the lock we discussed the replacement with Corps officials, and then we toured the Holy Cross neighborhood, which would be impacted by the replacement project.
Students discuss the lock and its operations with Corps personnel.
Christina takes up a point with the Corps' engineer.
A barge enters the lock in transit to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
Discussing the lock expansion. Jeff Treffinger of Earth Search joined us to discuss the architectural history of the lock and Holy Cross.
Inside the lock. Oliver White (on left) discusses the process of opening and closing the lock.
Rhonda Smith (Newcomb '95) of Earth Search discusses the historical archaeology of the Holy Cross neighborhood.
Public support for the lock expansion is not universal.
Discussing the evolution and history of the Holy Cross neighborhood with Rhonda and Jeff
The class on the Mississippi River levee at the mouth of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal
More discussion of the history and architecture of Holy Cross.