The Suck Bend Reach of the Chattahoochee River is in the upper end of Columbia Lock and Dam Pool about 1.5 miles downstream of the Walter F. George Lock and Dam. Suck Bend is essentially two adjacent and alternate bends in the form of a relatively flat "S" curve. Shoaling that occurs in the bend during flood flows and at times during powerhouse operation has been a problem for navigation when there is little or no flow from upstream. A movable-bed model reproducing about 1.5 miles of the Chattahoochee River to an undistorted scale of 1:72, model-to-prototype, was used to develop plans that would eliminate or reduce shoaling sufficiently to permit uninterrupted navigation and to improve navigation conditions for larger tows through the bend and in the approach to the proposed State Highway 10 bridge. The results of this investigation indicated the following: (A.) Navigation conditions in Suck Bend are affected by shoaling of the channel in the bend, elevation of bedrock, and adverse currents. (B.) Shoaling in the bend can be eliminated with training structures but the structures would not provide satisfactory navigation conditions through the bend and in the approach to the proposed State Highway 10 bridge for the larger tows because of the limited channel width and adverse currents. (C.) Satisfactory navigation conditions could be provided with training structures and with excavation and filling along the right bank in the bend to eliminate the irregularities in the bank line and increase the radius of curvature of the channel in the lower bend. (D.) Downbound tows of the larger size (435 ft by 78 ft) would have to flank to become properly aligned for passage through the bridge span even with the realigned right bank because of the short approach to the bridge after making the turn in the lower bend. (E.) The alignment of the currents through the proposed bridge could be improved with vane dikes along the left side of the channel upstream of the bridge but the dikes would reduce the maneuver area available and could be a navigation hazard.
Navigation Conditions, Suck Bend Reach, Chattahoochee River, Alabama and Georgia: Hydraulic Model Investigation
Technical Report ; H-78-10
1978
3030439
Report
Electronic Resource
English
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