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The locks located in the Old Port of Montréal underwent restoration recently, in 1992. The Saint-Gabriel, Côte Saint-Paul and Lachine locks (respectively locks nos. 3, 4 and 5), which, like the first two locks, were abandoned following the closing of the canal to navigation, served until very recently as weirs or regulators for the canal's hydraulic regime. Since 2001, these locks have been rehabilitated and recommissioned, with the south chambers continuing to serve a regulatory function, however. The original wall facings are of cut stone. In the southern chambers, they have been temporarily replaced by gabion walls (beneath the water surface). The aprons (or lock bottoms) are generally in good condition. Over the years, they have been constructed from a variety of materials such as wood, ashlar or concrete. The value of these locks resides in their pairing, or being set out parallel to one another, thus offering, in very close proximity, testimony to two periods of canal building.
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