Louisville and Portland Canal

Louisville and Portland Canal
The modern canal after many enlargements
Location	Louisville, Kentucky
Country	United States
Coordinates	38°16′18″N 85°46′46″W / 38.27170°N 85.77940°W / 38.27170; -85.77940
Specifications
Length	2 miles (3.2 km)
Locks	1 twin lock
Total rise	37 feet (11 m)
Status	Open
Navigation authority	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
History
Original owner	Louisville and Portland Canal Company
Date of first use	1830
Geography
Connects to	Ohio River

The Louisville and Portland Canal was a 2-mile (3.2 km) canal bypassing the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. The Falls form the only barrier to navigation between the origin of the Ohio at Pittsburgh and the port of New Orleans near the Gulf of Mexico; circumventing them was long a goal for Pennsylvanian and Cincinnatian merchants.^[1] The canal opened in 1830 as the private Louisville and Portland Canal Company but was gradually bought out during the 19th century by the federal government, which had invested heavily in its construction, maintenance, and improvement.

The Louisville and Portland Canal was renamed as the McAlpine Locks and Dam in 1962 after extensive modernization.^[2] The name "Louisville and Portland Canal" (or simply "Portland Canal") is still used to refer to the canal itself, which runs between the Kentucky bank and Shippingport Island from about 10th Street down to the locks at 27th Street.

The canal was the first major improvement to be completed on a major river of the United States.^[3]