U S Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam Operators

09/27/2025

Annual tradition is not that far away. Plan ahead.

08/26/2024

A short presentation of Hiram Chittenden and the building of the Locks.

Who was Hiram Chittenden and what does the Army have to do with the locks? In this video you can learn about the history of the Locks and the U.S. Army Corps...

04/16/2023

www.backthebluesigns.com

04/01/2020

11:00 AM today the Large locks went back into operations. The grounds remain closed to the public.

03/19/2020

The Ballard Locks is closing all facilities and pathways to pedestrians and bikes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure will come into effect tonight (March 17) at 9pm. Locks operations for mar…

03/18/2020

Up date at the locks. Effective 9:00 PM last night, (17 MAR 20) the Locks are closed to visitors until further notice as part of Coronavirus containment measures. The Small Lock remains open to ship traffic, and work continues on the valve replacements in the Large locks. At this time there is no projected date for reopening to foot traffic. Updates will be posted as they become available.

02/29/2020

What it looks like in the tunnels. The holes on the lower left are the vents the water passes through to fill the Chamber.

02/21/2020

Next month, you’ll have a chance to tour the inside the Ballard Locks’ large chamber. On Wednesdays in March, the Army Corps of Engineers will be doing guided tours for the public. It& #…

02/12/2020

Well we are just a few hours away from the Large Lock shut down. The Large locks is scheduled to be closed until April 5th for the upgrading of 2 North Wall Valves. De-watering should begin in the next 24 hours.

10/14/2019

For those interested in following the closure of the Large locks, here is a link to keep you informed.

10/07/2019

Long Shut down is about here. The Large Lock normally closes in November for a few weeks annual maintenance. This year however it will close from 12 October to 3 December because a valve will be replaced too. In the end all 6 Stoney Gate Valves will be up graded from their 100 year old chain drive to new hydraulic Valves. This first one will be a bit of a learning process on how best to get the job done.