Buck Island Reach, Mississippi River, Hydraulic Model Investigation.
Abstract
This investigation is part of a general model study to determine the effectiveness of dike systems proposed for improvement of troublesome reaches on the Mississippi River. This report describes and gives results of tests concerned with the development of plans for the improvement of dthe Buck Island reach of the river, which is located about 700 river miles above Head of Passes. A movable-bed model reproducing approximately 12.5 miles of the Mississippi River to a horizontal scale of 1:3000 and a vertical scale of 1:100 with crushed coal as the bed material was used to develop plans that would improve and stabilize the navigation channel through the reach and eliminate or reduce the need for maintenance dredging. The Buck Island reach is a straight reach of river where dike fields have been constructed to form a sinuous navigation channel. During the Mississippi River flood of 1973, failure of two dikes resulted in the forming of a new smaller channel that was not deep enough to allow navigation during low flows. Plans tested in this hydraulic model study included improvement and stabilization of the prefailure navigation channel alignment and realignment of the reach to eliminate the crossings. Model result indicated that the original channel alignment could be restored by rebuilding Buck Island dikes 3 and 4; however, some dredging may be required near Commerce Bend.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA156217
Entities
People
- C. R. Nickles
- J. E. Glover
- T. J. Pokrefke Jr.