the film forum library tutorial contact

Little Goose Lock Reopens Ahead of Schedule by Staff Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, April 22, 2014

STARBUCK -- Barge and boat traffic on the Lower Snake River is back to normal after repairs to the Little Goose Dam navigation lock were finished ahead of schedule.

The lock, which reopened Monday, had been closed at the start of March for annual maintenance, then had to be kept out of service after the discovery of cracks in a gudgeon arm assembly, a critical part of the structure, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said.

Initial estimates were for the lock to return to service by May 1, but "timely maintenance decisions, favorable weather conditions and exceptional teamwork" enabled the earlier reopening, officials said in a release.

If the lock had not reopened by the end of this month, it likely would have interfered with almost 1.5-million tons of commercial shipping moving on the river between Lewiston, Idaho, and Portland. Several fish-research projects and the Corps' transportation program for juvenile salmon and steelhead would also have been affected.

The Corps awarded an emergency contract on April 1 to Knight Construction of Deer Park, Wash., to install the new gudgeon arm assembly. The assembly holds the lock gate into position at the top of the structure while the lock gate pivots to open and close.

The amount of the contract, not to exceed $400,000, will be determined by the time and materials needed for the repair, officials said.