APRIL 2008: AROUND THE STATE
John Day Dam open after barge damage
COLUMBIA RIVER
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reopened traffic on the
Columbia River at the John Day Dam sooner than expected after a
barge damaged an upstream navigation lock gate.
After the barge collided with the gate on Feb. 28, officials
immediately closed the busy lock, which sees about 10 million
tons of cargo pass through annually. Initially it was feared
that the lock would not reopen before a planned shutdown for
yearly maintenance from March 8–22, but the
Corps worked around the clock to install a temporary floating
bulkhead. The lock reopened less than three days later.
“It is working, and we are very pleased that it’s
working,” says Corps spokeswoman Diana Fredlund.
“It’s not 100% yet, but there is a team working on
it.”
A vessel can normally pass through the lock in about 20
minutes, but with the bulkhead, which must be towed into place
by another boat, it takes 45 minutes to an hour. Even so,
Fredlund says the temporary fix prevented losses that could
have resulted if the route was closed in the days before the
planned closure, when traffic generally picks up.
The gate was not fixed during the two-week maintenance period,
and Fredlund says the bulkhead will likely remain for several
months.
JAMIE HARTFORD
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