Bonneville Lock Work
The Portland Engineer District recently released a video showing some of the work performed during a recent closure of Bonneville Lock on the Columbia River.
During the closure, the lock was dewatered, and the Corps performed inspections and maintenance, including a close examination of the downstream miter gates, which are each 95 feet tall and 50 feet wide.
The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/N4-03V00f9U.
The series of locks on the Lower Columbia—including at John Day and The Dalles dams, in addition to Bonneville—are a vital piece of transportation infrastructure. The Corps performs maintenance during scheduled outages, which ensures that these systems stay open on a reliable schedule. To maintain safe and reliable passage through this valuable navigation system, the Corps coordinates the annual lock closures with inland shippers and cruise lines to minimize impacts to those users.
The system helps keep an estimated $23 billion worth of commerce flowing.
“The ability for cargo to move efficiently and safely on our waterways helps keep us competitive in global markets,” said Heather Stebbings, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association executive director. “It’s all the way from the farmers in eastern Washington and eastern Oregon; it helps keeps their grain competitive and helps keep folks working on our waterways.”
Caption for photo (click on picture for full image): Dwarfed by the massive structure, divers inspect a downstream navigation lock gate during an annual lock outage at Bonneville Lock on the Columbia River. (Photo courtesy of Portland Engineer District)
