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[[Image:Tenn-tom.gif|thumb|Map of the Tennessee-
The '''Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway''' (popularly known as the '''Tenn-Tom''') is a {{convert|234|mi|adj=on}} man-made [[waterway]] built in the late 20th century that extends from the [[Tennessee River]] to the junction of the [[Black Warrior River|Black Warrior]]-[[
The ten locks are {{convert|9|×|110|×|600|ft|m}}, the same dimension as the locks on the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] above Lock and Dam 26 at [[Alton, Illinois]].<ref name=
{{cite news
|url = http://
|title = 20-year anniversary of Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway: Canal's success debated
|work = [[Tuscaloosa News]]
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|archivedate = August 19, 2016
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160819174225/http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20050109/NEWS/501090357?p=all&tc=pgall
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|quote = The Tenn-Tom is at least 300 feet wide over its entire length, but the inside dimensions of its 10 locks are 110 feet wide by 600 feet long ... The locks on the Mississippi River are the same dimensions as those on the Tenn-Tom, but none of them are [is] south of St. Louis, which means commercial traffic isn't slowed down by navigating a lock system.
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| quote = While early plans called for a canal 28 feet wide and four feet deep, with 44 locks, the 234-mile Waterway was built with a minimum width of 300 feet, a depth of nine feet (or more), and just 10 large locks (all 600 feet long and 110 feet wide).
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==Early history and construction==
First proposed in the Colonial period, the idea for a commercial waterway link between the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers did not receive serious attention until the advent of river [[steamboat]] traffic in the early nineteenth century. It stimulated trade throughout the river cities, and the ability to get products to the Gulf Coast for overseas shipping. As steamboat efficiency gains caused [[water transport]] costs to decline, in 1875 engineers surveyed a potential canal route for the first time.<ref name="vanwest1">Van West, Carroll. ''Tennessee History''. University of Tennessee Press, 1998.</ref>
Enthusiasm for the project languished until the presidency of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], who took office during the [[Great Depression]] and quickly conceived of investment in major infrastructure projects to put many of the unemployed to work. The development of the Tennessee River by the [[Tennessee Valley Authority|TVA]], especially the construction of the [[Pickwick Landing Dam|Pickwick Lock and Dam]] in 1938, helped decrease the Tenn-Tom's potential economic costs and increase its potential benefits. Pickwick Lake's design included an embayment on its south shore at Yellow Creek, which would permit the design and construction of an entrance to a future southward waterway (leading to the Tombigbee River), should it be decided that such a waterway should be built in the future.
Later, construction (under World War II emergency authorization) of [[Kentucky Dam]] at [[Gilbertsville, Kentucky]], near the mouth of the Tennessee River's confluence with the [[Ohio River]], would complete the "northern" half of the future waterway.<ref name="vanwest1" /> As early as 1941 the proposal was combined with those for other waterways, such as the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]], with the aim of building broader political support.<ref>''[[The St. Petersburg Times]]'', April 13, 1941, pg 10</ref> Additionally, political candidates in the South began to favor construction of the waterway for political reasons, that is, in order to appeal to their voters, rather than for economic reasons. In this period, most blacks in the South were still [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchised]]; the waterway was conceived as benefitting white businessmen and only southern white conservatives were voting on these proposals from that region. In the early 1960s it was proposed that the canal could be created by use of atomic blasts.<ref>''The Florence'' (Alabama) ''Times'', September 21, 1960, pg 3</ref>
As part of his "[[Southern Strategy]]" for reelection, [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]] included $1 million in the Corps of Engineers' 1971 budget to start construction of the Tenn-Tom.<ref name="RufusWard1">Ward, Rufus. ''Tombigbee River. History Press, 2010.</ref> Funding shortages and legal challenges delayed construction until December 1972, but President Nixon's efforts nevertheless initiated official Tenn-Tom waterway construction.<ref name="RufusWard1" />▼
▲As part of his "[[Southern Strategy]]" for
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began work on the project in 1972. During the construction process, land excavation reached about {{convert|175|ft|m}} in depth and required the excavation of nearly 310 million cubic yards of soil (the equivalent of more than 100 million dump truck loads). The project was completed on December 12, 1984, nearly two years ahead of schedule.<ref>Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority.</ref>
==Controversy==
The $2 billion in required funding for the Tenn-Tom waterway was repeatedly attacked by elected representatives and political organizations. Opponents asserted that the estimated economic benefits of the waterway by the Corps of Engineers were unsupportable based on projected traffic volume. The waterway's essential economic rationales—that it would generate a demand for industries to locate along its banks, and use its barge handling
By 1977, the Tenn-Tom was
An article published in the ''[[Tuscaloosa News]]'' on January 9, 2005, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the canal, noted that it carried
==Economic
When completed, the Tenn-Tom waterway's total cost was $1.992 billion, including non-federal costs
The [[1988–89 North American drought|1988 drought]], however, closed the [[Mississippi River]] and shifted traffic to the Tenn-Tom canal.<ref name="RufusWard1"/> This coincided with an economic turnaround on the Tennessee-Tombigbee corridor, wherein trade tonnage and commercial investment increased steadily over several years.
The two primary commodities shipped via the Tenn-Tom are coal and timber products, together comprising about 70 percent of total commercial shipping on the waterway.<ref name="Troy1" >"Economic Impacts of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway". 2009. Troy University.</ref> The Tenn-Tom also provides access to over {{convert|34|e6acre|km2}} of commercial forests and approximately two-thirds of all recoverable coal reserves in the nation. Industries that
According to a 2009 [[Troy University]] study, since 1996 the United States has realized a direct, indirect, and induced economic impact of nearly $43 billion due to the existence and usage of the Tenn-Tom Waterway
==Divide Cut==
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==Locks and dams==
{{GeoGroup}}
The waterway is composed of ten locks (listed below from north to south along the waterway); many are named after Southern politicians who supported the project:
* [[Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam]]; formerly named Bay Springs Lock and Dam – impounds [[Bay Springs Lake]] {{coord|34|31|20|N|88|19|30|W|region:US-MS_type:landmark|name=Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam}}
* [[G. V. Montgomery Lock]]; formerly named Lock E {{coord|34|27|47.06|N|88|21|53.5|W|type:landmark|name=G.V. Montgomery Lock and Dam}}
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