PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Willamette Falls Locks are about to receive improvements as a two-year seismic retrofit project begins in spring 2023.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District, which oversees the locks, announced Friday it has awarded a construction contract to Vancouver-based Northbank Civil and Marine, Inc. The company will complete safety and seismic repairs at the locks before the district transfers ownership to the Willamette Falls Locks Authority.
The decision to transfer ownership of the locks system was made in 2019 and the official transfer is expected to take place in 2026.
But before that occurs, the contractors will perform geotechnical explorations on the locks, which will involve drilling a series of holes to investigate the systems substructure and ensure seismic anchors installed throughout the repairs have been properly designed.
“We’re really excited to complete these seismic repairs so we can transfer the locks to the Willamette Falls Locks Authority, and they can further develop them into the future,” said Col. Mike Helton, commander of the Corps’ Portland District.
Helton said the Corps’ Portland District wants to give the locks to the Willamette Falls Locks Authority in the most responsible way possible.
The Willamette Falls Locks Authority is an 11-member public corporation that was established by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 to assume ownership of the lock system and oversee ongoing refurbishments.
The locks began operating in 1873 to move river traffic around the large waterfalls between Oregon City and West Linn. Ownership of the locks changed hands several times before the Corps purchased them around 1915.
The Corps operated the locks for commercial and recreational vessel passage until 2011 when the Corps closed the locks due to safety concerns and began a study to determine federal interest in retaining the structure.