Bonneville dam reopens early

A few days ahead of schedule, the Bonneville Dam reopened to river traffic on Friday, Sept. 27. The original scheduled reopen date was Sept. 30.

Traffic along the river has been stopped since Sept. 5, when a crack was found in the concrete sill of the navigation lock, halting barges full of grain and other materials waiting to get from Inland Northwest ports to the coast as well as the cruise boat industry.

According to the US Army Corp of Engineers, Portland District webpage, there has been daily work on repairing the lock since its closure.

Dan Hart, general manager at Almota Elevator Co., s...