Nearly one hundred people visited the Fort Loudoun lock facility on Saturday after an open invitation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority.  

Matt Emmons, the lockmaster at Fort Loudoun, says that they are trying to increase awareness and engage with the community.

When the lock system was first built in the 1940’s, it was open to the public. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, however, the federal government fenced in the facility and required security clearance for all visitors. 

Technology has made these background checks a lot easier, and Emmons is excited to be hosting the tours. 

“We’ve been able to figure out a way to do this post-9/11, and we’re proud about that,” said Emmons.

Both adults and children toured the 60-by 360-foot lock facility that raises and lowers boats about 70 feet between Fort Loudoun Lake and Watts Bar Lake. Visitors got to see the system fill up and release water, watch the gates open and close and ask as many questions as they wanted.

“When you get a diverse group of people together, there’s always a magic that happens with the type of questions we get,” said Emmons. “Someone always stumps us.”

Visitors also received a closer view of the Fort Loudoun Dam operated by TVA. Emmons and the lock operators stressed the importance of safety when fishing near the dams and lock facility.

A week before the lock tour, three North Carolina men were involved in a fatal boating accident at Fort Loudoun Dam on Saturday morning. The men were in a fishing boat at about 10 a.m. when it started getting pulled into water being discharged from the dam. One man was killed. 

The dam is remotely operated, according to Emmons, and getting people to close the dam would have taken at least two hours. 

“As soon as those people crossed the threshold when the water starts sucking you in, they were in trouble,” said Gary Acers, a lock operator at Fort Loudoun. “It pulls you in within five minutes.” 

Boating accidents don’t happen often, but Emmons said that boaters should always be conscious of their surroundings. 

Any type of boat can go through the Fort Loudoun lock. Acers says he’s seen kayaks, yachts and even hand-made boats come through. 

“We had a guy who was re-enacting an old, 1800s-type river passage, and he had hand-built a raft out of reeds and tied them together,” said Acers. “It wasn’t really the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, but it was pretty cool.”

Emmons says that half a million tons of commodities, such as scrap metal, zinc, salt, sand, and more, pass through the lock on commercial barges every year. One single barge takes about 58 truckloads off the highway, according to Emmons.

“I think our highways and our rails are very active, but their capacity is almost exhausted,” said Emmons. “The more barge traffic we can get floating on the river, the more relief we get on our highways.”

Paul Murray, a lock operator who has been working at Fort Loudoun since 1992, was excited to be showing people around the facility again.

“People used to be able to come by at any time, and I miss those days,” said Murray. “It can get monotonous here, especially in the winter.”

Robin Bandy, a mother and homeschool teacher from Lenior City, brought her 8-year-old daughter to the lock facility for a field trip of sorts.

“Every opportunity we get to do something educational and fun, we take advantage of it.”

Technology has also made communicating with the public easier for Emmons. He puts out a lock report every week on the facility’s Facebook page to inform the public about what traffic to expect during the weekend.

“People can plan their trips and have less wait time this way,” said Emmons.

Emmons is looking forward to educating more people about the lock facility and the Tennessee River in the future.

"This infrastructure is vital to our economy," said Emmons. "And it's a great resource for the community around here as well."