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the dam, is an inland port for the Birmingham area.
Most, if not all, of the first 16 dams built from the late
1800s to 1915 along the Warrior and Tombigbee between
Bankhead and Mobile were disassembled. The concrete
locks were abandoned since they are on the riverbank
and don't impede
navigation.
Lock 17 is
unique, according
to the Corps, in
that the original
spillway was
incorporated
into the current
spillway, the
original lock was
then filled and
a concrete dam
built across its
upstream end.
The facility is named for Jasper's John Hollis Bankhead
(1842-1920), a U.S. representative and senator from
Alabama appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to the
Inland Waterways Commission. Bankhead was a leading
supporter of developing
navigable waterways.
Bankhead Tunnel on
U.S. Highway 98 under the
Mobile River is named for
him. His granddaughter,
Tallulah Bankhead, was a
movie and television star.
The new Bankhead turbine under construction.
Warrior River Hydro Manager Kirkland with removed old turbine.
