Navigation Locks on the Snake and Columbia Rivers To Close for 10 Weeks

This article is taken from the January 4, 2024 USDA Grain Transportation Report.

The Columbia Snake River System (CSRS) is scheduled to close from January 14 until midnight on March 29, 2024. The extended closure will allow the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform routine maintenance and to replace aging equipment.

The maintenance and replacements are required to reduce the risk of infrastructure failures at the John Day and McNary dams on the Columbia River and the Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams on the Snake River. Similar extended closures also occurred in 2010 and 2016. From 2016 to 2020, an average of 31.3 million tons of wheat, corn, and soybeans were shipped on or through the CSRS.