News Release
| Release Number: | 05-020 |
| Dated: | 2/1/2005 |
| Contact: | Diana J. Fredlund, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. - For two weeks in March the only traffic going up and down the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers will be fish.
River traffic will stop from 6 a.m., March 5, so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors can perform annual inspections, repairs and maintenance on the navigation locks at the eight dams between Portland, Ore., and Lewiston, Idaho.
Portland District's Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day locks on the Columbia River will re-open at 11:59 p.m. March 19 to river traffic. In Walla Walla District, McNary Lock and Dam on the Columbia River and Ice Harbor Lock and Dam on the Snake River will also reopen at 11:59 p.m. March 19.
Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite locks on the Lower Snake River will remain closed until 11:59 p.m. March 26. Lower Monumental will conduct repairs to the downstream gate, Little Goose will repair a water stop leak, and Lower Granite will conduct general maintenance.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinates the annual outage with inland shippers and cruise lines.
Locks are normally dewatered for a complete inspection every five years. Full dewatering of the navigation lock is scheduled this year for The Dalles Lock and Dam. Dewatering permits the Corps to perform a more extensive inspection of the lock chamber.
For more information on the lock outages at McNary, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite, contact the Walla Walla District Public Affairs Office at (509) 527-7020, and for the lock outages at Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day, contact the Portland District Public Affairs Office at (503) 808-4510. - 30 -