Corps adjusts Lower Monumental navigation lock reopening date

KAHLOTUS, Wash.  – Final adjustments to the new downstream navigation lock gate being installed at Lower Monumental Lock and Dam will take a little longer to complete, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials in the Walla Walla District announced, today.

The Lower Monumental lock reopening has been rescheduled to occur at 5 p.m. on March 21 to allow Corps and contractor teams additional time necessary to complete alignment of the bottom and top gate seals, ensuring a water-tight fit during locking operations, according to District operations officials.

“These final adjustments involve precision work which must be done in a prescribed sequence, so the new gate’s seals will align properly with the existing lock structure,” said Corps Project Manager Steve Hartman. “Detailed and time-consuming adjustments prior to placing infrastructure back in service are some of the inherent challenges of construction management.”

Lower Monumental’s lock was previously scheduled to reopen on March 15.  Navigation industry officials were informed of the necessary shift in the schedule. The entire Columbia/Snake River system remains on schedule to return to service for river traffic between Portland, Ore., and Lewiston, Idaho, when The Dalles navigation lock reopens on March 23.  The updated reopening schedule is listed below:

For more information about the 2010-2011 Columbia-Snake Rivers Extended Navigation Lock Outage, visit the Corps’ joint-district Web page www.nwp.usace.army.mil/navigation/lockoutage.asp.  To see photos or video about the lock gate replacement at Lower Monumental Dam to go www.facebook.com/WallaWallaUSACE.

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