Growers Hurry To Beat Shipping Deadline

Inland Northwest grain growers are scrambling to ship as much of their crop as possible before the end of the year, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to close the Ice Harbor Dam lock for two months.

The repairs to the 33-year-old lock gate at the dam east of Pasco could not come at a more inconvenient time, Snake River commercial river users said.

The corps announced it will replace a damaged concrete and steel lock lift gate that has disrupted river traffic since the summer of 1994.

The corps has contracted with Imco Construction Co. of Bellingham to build the 900-ton gate and install it for $5 million.

Rather than paying higher costs of shipping via train or truck, most shippers will simply hold onto their grain for the two-month shutdown in January and February.