1 Apr 2024

Walla Walla District reopens navigation locks after extended outage; completes work on multiple BIL-funded projects

COLUMBIA & SNAKE RIVERS, Ore. & Wash. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District reopened navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers on March 29 after an eleven-week outage. This extended outage allowed the district to perform routine maintenance and to replace aged equipment to reduce the risk of asset failure.

20 Mar 2024

Military night operations training to be held at McNary Lock and Dam March 25 through 27

UMATILLA, OR. -  Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will conduct military night operations training at McNary Lock and Dam from Monday, March 25 through Wednesday, March 27. The training employs the use of helicopters and simulated munitions to make the exercise as realistic as possible. The training will primarily occur after sunset.

11 May 2022

Corps’ summer recreational lock schedule to take effect May 15

Motorized recreational boaters who need to pass through the three lower Columbia River dams must follow a lock schedule taking effect May 15.

24 Mar 2021

Corps will dig dry conditions with finished Kentucky Lock cofferdam

GRAND RIVERS, Ky. (March 24, 2021) – The cofferdam at the Kentucky Lock Addition Project is finished, a milestone that paves the way for downstream excavation work to prepare the site for construction of the remaining portion of the new lock chamber.

1 Mar 2021

Columbia and Snake river navigation locks will close March 6 for annual maintenance

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland and Walla Walla districts will close all Corps navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers March 6 at 6 a.m. for regularly-scheduled annual inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs.

18 Dec 2020

General gets rundown on challenges impacting Kentucky Lock Addition Project

GRAND RIVERS, Ky. (Dec. 18, 2020) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations visited the Kentucky Lock Addition Project Wednesday for a status update and rundown of challenges the project delivery team has faced, especially with high water impacts.

29 Sep 2020

The Anatomy of an Outage: A Look Back at Bonneville Navigation Lock's Sill Failure

On Sept. 5, 2019, a long unknown and undetected flaw became an impending failure at Bonneville navigation lock. More than 70 feet underwater, sections of rebar, threaded through 40,000 pounds of concrete, had stretched and bent until the strain snapped them. The now deformed steel bars were no match for the force of water that came every time the lock filled with water to pass vessels through the lock.

28 Aug 2019

Fiber optic installation sheds light on valuable partnership

An ongoing project to install fiber optic cable to increase bandwidth and data transmission speeds is shedding light on how two federal agencies are partnering to reduce costs and improve communications.

16 Aug 2019

NR 19-039: Public invited for tour of Cheatham Dam and Powerhouse

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 16, 2019) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District invites the public for a free tour of Cheatham Dam Lock and Dam and Hydropower Plant in Ashland City, Tenn., 11 a.m. Central Time Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.

8 Apr 2019

19-031 Lower Monumental Dam’s navigation lock temporarily changes hours of operation April 9-12

KAHLOTUS, Wash. – Lower Monumental Dam’s navigation lock, located at Snake River Mile 41.6 near Kahlostus, Washington, will temporarily be closed to vessel traffic from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 9-12, according to operations officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District.