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Willamette Falls Locks
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Steamboat and barge traffic in the lock, circa 1915
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| Location: | West Linn, Oregon, USA |
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| Built: | 1873 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 74001680 |
| Added to NRHP: | 1974 |
The Willamette Falls Locks are a lock system on the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 1873 and currently closed, they allow boat traffic on the Willamette to navigate beyond Willamette Falls. Located in the Portland metropolitan area, the four inter-connected locks are 25 miles upriver from the Columbia River at West Linn, just across the Willamette River from Oregon City. The locks are operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and serve primarily pleasure boats. These locks were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
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The Willamette Falls Canal and Locks Company was formed in 1868 to build a navigation route around the falls.[1] Construction then began on building a canal and lock system around the west end of the falls.[1] The locks opened on January 1, 1873, as the first multi-lift navigation locks in the United States at a cost of $560,000, and has been in continuous use ever since. Maria Wilkins, a steamship, was the first vessel to use the locks.[1] The Army Corps of Engineers purchased the lock system from Portland General Electric in 1915 for $375,000.[1][2] The locks were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
With no funding available to perform needed inspections and repairs, the locks were closed in January 2008.[3] In April 2009, as part of the federal government's economic stimulus plan, $1.8 million was allocated to repair and inspect the locks, with an additional $900,000 allocated in October 2009 for additional repairs and operational costs.[4] The locks reopened in January 2010 with the Willamette Queen the first vessel to pass.[5] The locks were open through the summer of 2010, and then due to a lack of federal funding for operations, were not scheduled to reopen for 2011.[6]
In December of 2011, the locks were again closed, this time owing to the excessive corrosion of the locks' gate anchors. The further deterioration of the locks resulted in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reclassifying the locks as being in a "non-operational status," out of concern that any further operation of the locks could lead to a failure of the locks, posing a safety risk to the public. The locks are expected to remain permanently closed, as the lack of traffic through the locks makes funding for any repairs a low priority.[7]
The locks are owned and were operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and passage through the locks is free for both commercial and recreational boats. There are seven gates in four chambers which lift up to 50 feet (15.5 m) elevation change (depending on tides and river flow) with a usable width of 37 feet (11.2 m). The system is 3565 feet (1087 m) long, and can accommodate vessels up to 175 feet (53.3 m) long. Each of the four concrete constructed chambers are 210 feet by 40 feet.[1]
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