BURBANK, Wash. – Ice Harbor Dam’s navigation lock, located at Snake River Mile 9.7 near Burbank, Wash., is planned to be temporarily closed to all recreational river traffic beginning Monday morning, Nov. 12, and ending Friday evening, Nov. 16. The closure is for channel maintenance work to remove and dispose of an accumulation of rocks and earthen materials within the downstream lock approach area identified during a recent Corps survey.
Commercial navigation traffic will be allowed only during evening hours. The lock will be closed to commercial traffic beginning each day one hour before sunrise at 5:45 a.m. and ending one hour after sunset at 5:30 p.m.
During the temporary lock closure, a contractor will perform channel maintenance work to remove the rocks and earthen materials during daylight hours. Currently, there is less than the standard 14-foot depth normally available to vessels if the river’s surface elevation falls below 339 feet mean sea level (m.s.l.) below Ice Habor Dam. Lake Wallula, the reservoir upstream of McNary Lock and Dam, has a target operating range varying between 335-340 feet m.s.l., as measured on the upstream side of McNary Dam.
The Corps awarded a $254,680.89 contract on Oct. 31 to LKE Corporation of Washougal, Wash., to remove and dispose of rocks and earthen materials. The contractor work crew will have boats and equipment in the navigation channel daily during the lock closure. Each evening, the contractor will vacate the lock approach, allowing commercial vessels to lock past the dam. Commercial navigation officials have been notified.
Recreational boaters can still access the river daily both downstream and upstream of Ice Harbor from nearby boat launches. The nearest fee-free launches available on the south shoreline of the river are located at Hood Park (downstream at Snake River Mile 2.5) and Charbonneau Park (upstream at Snake River Mile 11). The nearest free boat launching on the north side of the river is available at the North Shore Boat Ramp (upstream side of the dam at Snake River Mile 9.7). Explore more boating and recreation opportunities online at www.nww.usace.army.mil/corpsoutdoors.
The Corps coordinates navigation maintenance with inland shippers and cruise lines to achieve minimal impact to the various industries that use the locks. Public Notices and other navigation lock information are available on the Walla Walla District website at http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation.aspx.
The Corps’ Walla Walla and Portland districts maintain about 350 miles of the federal navigation channel from Portland, Ore., to Lewiston, Idaho. The Columbia-Snake navigation system of eight dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers is vital to the economic health of the Pacific Northwest. The system accommodates the transportation of about 10 million tons of cargo annually. Ten million tons equals about 2,700 barges, 100,000 railcars or 350,000 semi-trucks.
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