Excited for the locks to reopen? It’s fun to think about, but still a ways off

Imagine kayaking with friends on the Willamette River between Wilsonville and Portland. Right now, you can only daydream about the adventure because it has not actually been possible since the Willamette Falls Locks closed in 2011. But the Willamette Falls Locks Authority hopes this type of activity could soon be a reality once again.

Since it was formed by the Oregon Legislature in 2021, the authority has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the longtime owner and operator of the locks, to repair and reopen the passageway that allows boats to traverse the falls.

For more than a century, the locks — which work thanks to a series of gates that open and close to raise and lower water levels, creating a hydraulic staircase of sorts — ferried passenger and cargo vessels between the upper and lower portions of the Willamette. Seismic issues and corrosion of the gates led the Corps to close the locks in 2011.

But the Corps recently completed repairs and is working with the authority, which aims to take over ownership of the locks in the next few years.

Before they can reopen, however, there is still plenty of work to be done.

What kinds of vessels can go through the locks?

While size requirements and other rules for vessels traveling through the locks have not been determined, Locks Authority Chair Christine Lewis — a Metro councilor — said the goal is for recreational and commercial boats to use the locks.

“A kayak generally isn't going to want to go through and do a lockage alone, but, in the past, flotillas of small craft and kayaks have gone together and had a blast,” Lewis said.

Though Lewis said it’s not likely small crafts like paddle boards or innertubes would be allowed through the locks, she said the authority hopes to have spots for recreators to exit the river and walk around the locks before getting back in so people can still travel across the upper and lower parts of the river.

What’s still to be done before the locks open?

While simply creating the locks authority and completing initial repairs was several years in the making, there is still a lot of work to be done in the coming years before the locks can reopen.

At its most recent meeting, which took place June 26, members of the authority received a progress update from Executive Director Reed Wagner, who said the authority’s main goals for 2024 and 2025 are seeking additional funding. This could come via allocations from the state or federal government, grants or private funding.

Lewis mentioned the authority will ask for additional funding from the Oregon Legislature and Congress in the coming years. Private funding, she added, could come from industries with an interest in seeing the locks reopen, like companies that will use the river for shipping or tourism companies hoping people will use the river to travel between Portland and other parts of the Willamette Valley.

Between 2025 and 2027, Wagner said the organization hopes to complete the transfer of ownership from the Corps, establish administrative policy, enact plans for operating the locks, develop a maintenance plan and determine passage fee rates.

“Those are some of the bigger milestones that we have going on,” Wagner said. “I think it’s exciting that we’re pivoting toward this really important work and I see us as an organization that’s ready to take it on.”

Laura Hicks of the Corps shared at the June 26 meeting that the agency was working on an environmental assessment of the locks and securing easement agreements with Portland General Electric and Belgravia, which both own property around the locks.

Lewis added that work on the locks will continue as well.

“Work has been done and will continue to be done because we are pretty motivated to be ready to make the transfer and make at least the first round of improvements that we have secured the money for within the next few years,” Lewis said.

The authority hopes these additional repairs will bring the locks up to a modern standard.