A damaged lower guide wheel on the John Day Dam’s upstream navigation lock gate has slowed barge traffic on the Columbia River, but shippers and others say a delay is better than a closure during this especially busy time of year.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers technicians found the damage July 25 and closed the lock to river traffic. They then moved to limited lockages the next evening, according to a Corps press release.

The lock is operating at a reduced speed, using a floating concrete bulkhead as a temporary gate. It’s too early to say how long the reduced speed of operation will continue, Edward “Tom” Conning, public affairs specialist for the Corps, told the Capital Press.

The cause of the damage to the guide wheel is unknown.

“Our initial engineering assessments were generally positive,” Conning said. “It appears that many of the damaged parts are salvageable and there doesn’t seem to be any damage to the structural gate itself.”

Initial estimates put repair costs at $1 million, Conning said.

“Traffic through John Day Lock is slower than normal, but we don’t expect further reductions or a complete loss of service at this time,” he said. “Our focus is getting the lock back into full service.”

“Overall, we’ve been very fortunate … that the Corps found a workaround in pretty rapid fashion,” said Kurt Haarmann, senior vice president of the grain division for Columbia Grain International. “Just having the workaround, even if it’s a bit slower, allows us to maintain navigation and shipments (and) keep moving growers’ products to market.”

The delays require companies to predict shipping needs more accurately and a little farther into the future, Haarmann said.

“It’s certainly much better than an outright closure given the amount of production that is upstream of that lock,” he said.

“We’re in a critical time right now at the beginning of harvest, and there’s going to be a lot of grain that needs to be moved — a lot of export sales that we’ve made that we need to execute upon and a lot of sales the growers have made, and they need that space upcountry to be able to deliver,” he said.

Shipping wheat by rail and truck are alternatives, he said.

“Neither of those systems can really supplant the vast majority that goes by the river,” he said. “In the short run, you would probably end up with more ground piles or temporary emergency ground storage.”

Haarmann pointed to the expense of using trucks with increased diesel costs, the distance involved and wear and tear on the roads and environment.

The John Day situation highlights the value of the shipping system for the public, Haarmann said

“(The dams) are absolutely critical to Pacific Northwest farmers and their transportation of goods to the export markets,” he said. “I think it brings it front and center, and hopefully in a different light as a reminder, and not necessarily purely the environmental or fish discussion.”

Portland District locks on the Columbia River handle 10 million of the 50.5 million tons of cargo shipped annually in the nation.

The Columbia River is the No. 1 U.S. export gateway for wheat and barley, the No. 2 U.S. export gateway for corn and soy, and the No. 1 U.S. export gateway for West Coast mineral bulk.

The Columbia River system is also the national leader for wood exports and auto imports and exports.