"Removing the guard lock at above Jefferson St. in 1899. M.S.D. built seperation [illegible]." (From the back of the photograph.) Lewis University Canal and Regional History Collection

After the removal of the guard lock at Joliet Jefferson St. 1900. Lewis University Canal and Regional History Collection

" The design of the I&M Canal required three fundamental decisions: how wide and deep to make it; how far down the Des Plaines/Illinois river system to extend it to assure low-water navigation on the Illinois down to the Mississippi; and how to supply it with water. Originally, planners of the canal had intended to copy the Erie Canal's 40 foot wide by 4 foot deep channel, but the trend in American canals was toward larger channels. The I&M matched most post 1825 canals, using a channel 60 feet wide at the surface by 36 feet wide at the bottom by 6 feet deep." (The Illinois and Michigan Canal: its past, its present, plans for its future, p.8) Updated March 1, 2000
duffy ingram