Company Hired To Knock Down Rock Formations

Ten rock formations that could endanger barges on the Snake River are about to be removed.

The rocky fingers, reaching upward from the river bottom about four miles east of Pasco are being sawed down this month by Zygotech Inc., a Richland company hired by the Army Corps of Engineers for $192,000.

“It’s been challenging, to say the least,” company project manager Richard Lawrence said.

Zygotech is using a backhoe on a small construction barge to wear down the underwater pinnacles. The rocky debris remains in the river.

Murky water makes it hard for the crews to know if they’re in the right position, and barge traffic further complicates the job, Lawrence said.

River barges carry grain and wood chips to the coast and petroleum products upriver. A typical four-barge tow carries nearly as much material as 540 trucks or 140 rail cars.

Last fall, corps officials identified 10 rock formations too tough to remove by dredging and too tall to ensure clearance for barges just downriver of Ice Harbor Dam.