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To: Neeka who wrote (240332)	3/1/2008 12:02:04 AM
From: KLP	Respond to of 793575

Wonder who was drivin' this boat? Barge hits lock, Columbia closed to vessels seattletimes.nwsource.com By The Associated Press PORTLAND — A barge has hit a gate at the navigation lock of the John Day Dam on the Columbia River, interrupting shipping for most of the next month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. The lock uses water to raise and lower vessels so they can get around the dam. The corps said a towboat pulling a barge was moving upstream late Thursday when it came into contact with the gate and pulled it free of a housing on the upstream side. The accident caused significant damage, but no people were hurt. "The mere fact that the gate is not operational is significant in our mind," said Matt Rabe, spokesman for the corps. "Several things have to happen for a gate to come out." An investigation is under way into the cause and how the lock could be put back into operation. The lock was scheduled to be shut down from March 8-22 for annual maintenance, Rabe said. This accident would take at least a week to repair, he said, so the corps has told the towing industry that the lock is closed essentially until the end of March. About 10 million tons of commodities and finished goods move along the river each year. Shipping between Portland and the Tri-Cities area of Washington state is affected. The Port of Portland said it is assessing the impact on shippers' plans. The barge remained stuck in the lock, but the corps said it would be able to move once the damage assessment is done. "For the time being, she is a guest of ours," Rabe said. The dam itself is nearly half a century old. It creates 2.2 million kilowatts of power at peak production. The Oregonian newspaper reported last year that the federal government faces tens of millions of dollars in repairs at the lock, including new valves to pump water in and out. It also reported worries stemming from the quality of the concrete used in 1958 and 1959 and a recent discovery that a layer of soft rock below the lock allows its 130-foot-high walls to rock slightly as water is let in and out. The corps said accident does not affect the structure of the dam. Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company