The Franklin Lock and Dam, also known as the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam, is a navigable lock and dam in Olga, Florida, United States. This lock and dam cost $3.8 million, and was constructed in 1965. It is located on the Caloosahatchee River approximately 33 mi upstream from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Franklin Lock and Dam was named after Walter P. Franklin (1871-1967), a businessman, civic leader, and mayor of Fort Myers, Florida. It is located at latitude 26° 43" 16', longitude -81° 41"40', on the Caloosahatchee River about 33 mi upstream of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Lockage usually takes between 15 and 20 minutes. The lock operates from 7 am to 5 pm, 365 days a year, unless otherwise stated in "Notice to Mariners", published by the Coast Guard.

Purpose

The Franklin Lock and Dam were constructed for flood control, water control, the prevention of salt-water intrusion, and for navigation purposes.

Technical information

The lock chamber is 56 ft wide by 400 ft long by 14 ft high. The lift of the lock is usually 2 to 3 ft from sea level to the Caloosahatchee River water level. The channel is 90 ft wide by 8 ft deep. The lock chamber is concrete, with welded structural steel sector gates, and concrete gate bays. This lock has a discharge capacity of 28,900 cuft/s.

Lockage

Vessels

Approximately 15,000 vessels pass through annually, of which about 97% are recreational vessels.

Commodities

About 13,000 tons of manufactured goods, equipment, crude materials, food, and petroleum products are locked annually.

Radio channel

This lock operates on Marine VHF radio channel 13.