The Kirkfield Lift Lock is a boat lift located in the city of

Kawartha Lakes Kawartha Lakes (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 79,247) is a List of municipalities in Ontario , single-tier municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Though structured as a single-tier municipality, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typica ...

, Ontario, Canada, near the village of Kirkfield. It is designated "Lock 36" of the Trent–Severn Waterway, situated at the highest section of the canal (256.2 m). It is Canada's second lift lock, the other one is the

Peterborough Lift Lock The Peterborough Lift Lock is a boat lift located on the Trent Canal in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and is Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. For many years, the lock's dual lifts were the highest hydraulic boat lifts i ...

, located on the same canal system.

Construction history

The early years

Construction of the lock took place between 1900 and 1907. It was contrived by

Richard Birdsall Rogers Richard Birdsall Rogers (15 January 1857 – 2 October 1927) was a Canadian civil and mechanical engineer whose most significant achievement was the design of the Peterborough Lift Lock, a boat lift at Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. From 1 ...

, a Canadian engineer, who adopted the design of the Lifts on the old Canal du Centre in Belgium. The concept of the hydraulic lift lock had never been implemented in the harsher Canadian climate prior to the construction of the Peterborough Lift Lock, also designed by Rogers. The successful completion of the locks was therefore considered a significant technological breakthrough.

Modernization

During the late 1960s, the Kirkfield Lift Lock underwent a series of renovations. The original manual controls were electrified and automated, enabling all lock operations to be activated from a single console in the new control tower. The water-driven gate engines and pumps were removed, as well as the

retaining wall Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides. Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...

s, concrete piers, and the steel aqueduct. The shops and lockmaster's houses built along the canal were also demolished. The lock was reinforced with a massive concrete structure; a new two-lane underpass was constructed underneath. Currently, the lock is used exclusively by

pleasure boat Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

s, like the rest of the canal, becoming obsolete for commercial traffic after the present version of the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

was completed in 1932.

Accident and Repair

On September 2nd, 2022, water suddenly began pouring out from the lock's northern caisson. Passengers aboard the ''Kawartha Voyageur,'' which was being raised up at the time, evacuated as the damaged lock was lowered back down. Unbeknownst to the passengers and witnesses to the event, the lock had suffered a mechanical failure. The lock was shut down and the site closed to the public as authorities investigated the incident. On January 20th, 2023, Parks Canada announced that a contract was awarded in order to make repairs. By the start of navigation season on May 19th that same year, the lock was re-opened with "equipment and procedures for short-term, expedited single-tub operations" as repair work continued through the summer.

References

{{City of Kawartha Lakes Transport infrastructure completed in 1907 Boat lifts Locks of Canada Canals in Ontario National Historic Sites in Ontario Buildings and structures in Kawartha Lakes Transport buildings and structures in Ontario