Jim Woodruff Lock - Chattahoochee, Florida - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

The Jim Woodruff Lock is one of three locks that are part of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River System (ACF). The ACF provides a link from the upper Chattahoochee and Flint River basins to the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachicola, Florida. The ACF is linked to our Nation's vast inland navigation systems through the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The ACF consists of a channel nine feet deep and 100 feet wide from the mouth of the Apalachicola River to the head of navigation at Columbus, Georgia for the Chattahoochee River and at Bainbridge, Georgia for the Flint River. The total waterway runs 290 miles with a lift of 190 feet accomplished by three locks and dams. The system also provides hydro-electric power, water supply, water quality, flood control and recreational opportunities.

Completed in 1954 the lock structure is a single lock, 450 feet (140 m) in length and 82 feet (25 m) wide and has a 11 foot difference between the Apalachicola River and Lake Seminole under normal conditions. The lock permits traffic from the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers to Lake Seminole on the common border of Florida and Georgia to the Apalachicola River and on to the Gulf of Mexico. The lock is named in honor of James W. Woodruff, Sr., a Georgia businessman who spearheaded the development of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Project.

For visiting and photographing purposes it is easiest to view the lock from the east side of the Apalachicola River at the fishing pier south of the dam. Parking at 30.7079392, -84.8605056. If you want to get closer you can turn off of the US Hwy 90 bridge on the west side of the river and park under the bridge. You then have to make a moderately difficult 1.10 mile hike north along the river bank to the lock. Also on the west side of the river is the Woodruff Dam Overlook. Go a little further west and turn north on West Bank Overlook Rd. and take it to the overlook parking spot. There are two levels for parking a low level at the waters edge or a higher spot. The lower level has the best view.

Waterway Name: Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River System Connected Points: Columbus, GA on the Chattahoochee River, Bainbridge, GA on the Flint River and Apalachicola Bay/Gulf of Mexico on the Apalachicola River in Florida. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1954 Elevation Difference (meters): 4.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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