Overview
Pike Island Locks and Dam is a popular fishing destination.
It is the fifth lock and dam on the Ohio River, located 84 miles downstream of Pittsburgh.
The lock chambers lie on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River along West Virginia Route 2, just north of the Warwood district of the city of Wheeling. The villages of Yorkville, site of a large steel plant, and Tiltonsville are across the river in Ohio.
There are two locks, one for commercial barge traffic that’s 1,200 feet long by 110 feet wide, and the auxiliary lock is 600 feet long by 110 feet wide.
The Pike Island locks were constructed from 1959-63 and were opened in November 1963. The dam was built from 1962-65. This structure replaced Locks and Dams 10 and 11, built by the Corps from 1912-16 and 1904-11, respectively. These had smaller lock chambers with old-style wooden wicket dams, which the lock crews raised and lowered manually to maintain the required navigation depth in the river.
Access fishing parking at River Rd., Yorkville, OH 43971.
