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Navigation

Navigation was the Corps of Engineers’ earliest Civil Works mission, dating to Federal laws in 1824 authorizing and funding the Corps to improve safety on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and several ports. The Corps provides safe, reliable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems (channels, harbors, and waterways) for movement of commerce, national security needs, and recreation.

Walla Walla District staff designed, built and operate some of the highest lift locks in the world, with an average lift of more than 100 feet. Our navigation locks on the Snake and Columbia rivers help provide a navigable waterway 465 miles inland from Astoria, Oregon, to Lewiston, Idaho. The District’s five navigation locks passed a total of 15,325,690 tons of cargo and commodities in 2020. McNary alone accounted for 4,691,390 tons of this total.  Approximately 81.7% of this total tonnage was wheat and rye products, and 4.1% was a total combination of fuel for vehicles and fuel oil for home heating. Wood and fertilizer products constituted most of the remaining tonnage.

NWW Navigation Lock Dimensions

 
Project Usable Length Usable Width Max Lift Normal Height Restriction* To Bottom of: At Tailwater Elevation:
McNary 650 ft 84 ft 83 ft N/A** N/A N/A
Ice Harbor 650 ft 84 ft 103 ft 67 ft Lift Gate 342 ft MSL
Lower Monumental 650 ft 84 ft 103 ft 65 ft
Bridge		 440 ft MSL
Little Goose 650 ft 84 ft 101 ft N/A** N/A N/A
Lower Granite 650 ft 84 ft 105 ft 100 ft Bridge 635 ft MSL

 

* This is the max clearance height available at normal tailwater elevation

** This project has a bascule bridge which is lifted during a lockage

Navigation Lock Notices

Navigation lock notices can be found here:

Notices to Navigation Interests (NTNI) site

Type the NTNI number (listed in parenthesis) into the search bar to bring up the notice you're after. Searches can also be made by river and river basin.

 

Most recent notices:

23-22 (205048) Walla Walla District Winter Recreation Vessel Lockage Schedule

23-21 (203165) Walla Walla District 2024 Extended Navigation Maintenance Outage

23-17 (202513) Scheduled Lock Closure at Lower Granite

23-16 (202478) Slower Lockages at Lower Monumental Lock and Dam

23-15 (202437) Walla Walla District Spring Spill/MOP Operations

23-14 (202350) Slower Lockages at Lower Granite

23-13 (202312) McNary Navigation Lock Back in Service

23-12 (202293) Slower Lockages at Lower Monumental

23-10a (202134-1) Amendment to Slower Lockages at Little Goose

23-11 (202193) Slower Lockages at Lower Monumental

23-10 (202134) Slower Lockages at Little Goose

23-09a (202131-1) Amendment to Possible Delays at Ice Harbor Navigation Lock

23-09 (202131) Possible Delays at Ice Harbor Navigation Lock

23-08 (202130) Return of Lower Granite Pool to Full Operating Range

23-06c (201734-3) Amendment 3 to Scheduled Daily Lock Outages at Little Goose and Lower Granite

23-06b (201734-2) Amendment 2 to Scheduled Daily Lock Outages at Little Goose and Lower Granite

23-06a (201734-1) Amendment to Scheduled Daily Lock Outages at Little Goose and Lower Granite

23-07 (201844) Slower Lockages at Ice Harbor Lock and Dam

23-06 (201734) Scheduled Daily Lock Outages at Little Goose and Lower Granite

23-05 (201704) Little Goose Navigation Lock Out of Service

23-04a (201611-1) Amendment to Slower Lockages at Little Goose

23-04 (201611) Slower Lockages at Little Goose

23-03 (201610) Possible Lock Delays at Lower Granite

23-02a (201534-1) Amendment to Slower Lockages at Ice Harbor Navigation Lock

23-02 (201534) Slower Lockages at Ice Harbor Navigation Lock

23-01a (201391-1) Amendment to NWW Fall Spill Operations

23-01 (201391) NWW Fall Spill Operations

Contact Us

Navigation

509-527-7364

One day at the McNary Navigation Lock

NWW Channel Hydrographic Maps

Lock Operation Simulator Ad

Navigation Infomation