KAHLOTUS, Wash. -- Vehicle crossings at Lower Monumental Lock and Dam, located at Snake River Mile 41.6 near Kahlotus, Washington, will be closed March 25-31, 2019, to accommodate operations and maintenance activities using the top of the dam, according to operations officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District.
Temporarily suspending traffic across the dam is necessary for safety reasons while contractors install testing equipment on two spillway gates, requiring use of the dam’s intake deck crane and numerous work vehicles on the top deck of the dam, said Sarah Wilson, chief of operations at the dam.
The nearest bridge across the Snake River is located about 8 miles northwest of Starbuck, Washington, on Highway 261, between Lyons Ferry Marina and Lyon Ferry State Park.
Lower Monumental’s normal vehicle-crossing schedule is slated to resume on Monday, April 1 -- open for crossings once an hour, on the half-hour, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and closed on federal holidays unless otherwise announced. Crossing times are 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 in the morning, and 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon. If approaching from the south shore, travelers can reach the security guard for crossing escort by calling #228 on the phone at south gate. Tour and school buses must contact the dam 24 hours in advance for authorization 509-282-3219/3218.
Travelers can call 1-888-DAM-INFO (1-888-326-4636) for the most current dam-crossing information at all three of Walla Walla District’s dams that allow public traffic to cross the Snake River in Washington: Lower Monumental, near Kahlotus; Little Goose, near Starbuck; and Lower Granite, near Pomeroy.
Lower Monumental Lock and Dam produces hydroelectric power for homes and businesses, and facilitates commercial inland navigation traffic on the lower Snake River. It also provides recreational opportunities and incidental irrigation for local farmers.
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