UMATILLA, Ore. – McNary Dam’s navigation lock, located at Columbia River Mile 292, near Umatilla, Ore., will be temporarily closed to all river traffic on Thursday, May 2, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ operations officials.
The temporary lock closure is necessary to accommodate workers using a crane and other heavy equipment to prepare six stoplogs for transport by barge from the upstream side of the dam to a repair facility in the Tri-Cities area, where they will be rehabilitated and upgraded. McNary’s navigation lock stoplogs are long rectangular, reinforced-concrete beams that are placed on top of each other, fitting into premade slots inside the lock wall to block the flow of water. These stoplogs are typically used when the lock needs to be dewatered for maintenance. Approximate size for each stoplog is 4.5 feet tall, 12 feet wide and 91 feet long, weighing up to 65,000 pounds. The Corps awarded the approximately $978,500 contract to Jireh Group LLC, a small business from Texarkana, Texas, to perform the work.
Recreational boaters can still access the river daily both downstream and upstream of McNary Lock and Dam from nearby boat launches. The nearest fee-free launch available on the south shoreline of the river is the Oregon Boat Launch located just upstream of the dam. The nearest free boat launches on the north side of the river are the Washington Boat Ramp, located just upstream of the dam, and at Plymouth Park, operated by the Corps’ Portland District, located just downstream of the Interstate 82\U.S. Highway 395 bridge over the Columbia River. 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 inland navigation channel from Portland, Ore. to Lewiston, Idaho. Ten-million tons of commercial cargo, valued at $1.5-2 billion, is transported via the channel each year, according to navigation industry data. The Columbia-Snake inland navigation system is part of a larger waterborne commerce system that is vital to the economic health of the Pacific Northwest. This import\export gateway allows river transport 465 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean to Lewiston, Idaho.
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