The Bertrand H. Snell Lock is situated on the St Lawrence River leg of the St Lawrence Seaway and is one of the seven canal locks found along the length of the seaway.
[1] The lock has a 45 ft (14 m) lift for ships traveling upstream.
The lock was constructed parallel to the portion of the St Lawrence River known as the "Long Sault".
The US Army Corps of Engineers planned and supervised the construction.
[2] Construction was complicated by the need to not interrupt the waterflow to nearby hydro-electric installations.