Lock and Dam Number 53, Navigation infrastructure on the Ohio River, Illinois and Kentucky, United States

Lock and Dam Number 53 was a navigation structure on the Ohio River that moved commercial vessels upstream through two chambers of different sizes. The facility handled river traffic moving between the Mississippi River and points further north.

Lock and Dam 53 was the first lock and dam upstream from the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, 962 miles downstream from Pittsburgh. It had two locks, 1,200 by 110 feet and 600 by 110 feet. In 2015, 72.3 million tonnes of cargo passed through, making it the second-biggest lock in the United States. Landside demolition finished in 2021, but underwater removal continued through 2022 and final demolition was completed on February 21, 2023.

In 2015, 72.3 million tonnes of cargo passed through the lock, making it the second-busiest in the United States after nearby Lock and Dam Number 52, as reported by The New York Times. The complex sat 962 miles downstream from Pittsburgh, just above the Ohio-Mississippi confluence, and its two chambers, 1,200 by 110 feet and 600 by 110 feet, served commercial barge traffic.

Lock and Dam 53 stood on the Ohio River at river mile 962, about 15 km north of La Center, Illinois, and was reachable only by water. The site is now demolished, so there is nothing left to visit on land. The Olmsted Lock and Dam, which became operational in August 2018, replaced it downstream.

The dam was a wicket dam, a special design with hinged sections that could submerge during high water levels. This construction approach allowed operators to adjust water flow according to shipping and flood control needs.