Oregon Public Broadcasting

Engineers plan to lower the biggest gate at the Willamette Falls Locks into place Monday. As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, the historic site is in the middle of a year-long renovation.

Investors built the watery staircase 136 years ago, so sternwheelers and other river traffic could ply their trade south to Salem and Corvallis.

But time has taken its toll and it's undergoing an extensive inspection and repair process.

Diana Fredlund of the Army Corps of Engineers says the locks are mostly used for recreation nowadays, but if any businesses need them, they're still there.

Diana Fredlund: "They are closed for the winter. But we're hoping to have them open again in the spring. A lot of it just depends on finalizing this inspection."

Last week, Congress a proved $900,000 to pay for the repairs and keep them running.