Barges return to Port of Lewiston now that dam lock maintenance finished, KLEW, April 13, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]by Shannon Moudy

LEWISTON, ID — Good news for local farmers…wheat shipments have begun moving out of the Port of Lewiston after an unusually long delay.

Locks at eight dams along the river route between the LC Valley and Portland have been closed since mid-December, with services resuming yesterday. Locks at the dams were undergoing scheduled maintenance, something the Army Corps of Engineers does every five to seven years.

Port Manager David Doeringsfeld says this year that maintenance took a little longer than expected.

“In the 20 some years that I’ve been here, this is the longest or second longest one that we’ve had,” said Doeringsfeld. “2010 would have been the only other comparable.”

Doeringsfeld says these grain piles are usually gone by mid-January and now they’ll be working hard to catch up to make room for July’s expected harvest.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View video clip” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fklewtv.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fbarges-return-to-port-of-lewiston-now-that-dam-lock-maintenance-finished|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]