Both the large and small locks at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard will be closed to all marine traffic from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on August 23.

The closure will allow construction crews and dive teams the opportunity to inspect the salmon exclusion structure immediately upstream of the locks. The staff will make maximum efforts to complete the work as soon and as safely as possible.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, which operates the locks, installed this interim structure to prevent salmon from being trapped in the saltwater return system.

“The exclusion structure is working well,” said Chuck Ebel, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, fish biologist, in a press release. “Since it was put in use three years ago, we only observed one chinook and one coho in the diffuser well.”

The structure prevents salmon access to the locks’ saltwater return system and improves the viability of the salmon runs, which use the fish ladder to return upstream to their spawning grounds. The design allows for the doors to be manually closed to screen fish during migration and opened when the salmon are not migrating.

Emergency vessels on an emergency call will have access to the locks during the closure.

Boaters may call the lockmaster on duty at 206-783-7000 to verify that the locks are open.

For current information about activities at the Locks, visit the Locks’ Web site at http://go.usa.gov/3sV.