<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3GqjXY_1GvcQZEc00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3GqjXY_1GvcQZEc00" width="800" height="450" >SEATTLE — The Ballard Locks, one of the busiest boat locks in the world, are temporarily closed while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drains the deep chamber for annual maintenance work that includes scraping barnacles that can harm migrating salmon.The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, known as the Ballard Locks to locals, draw about 2 million visitors every year, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. "There's always something different to see. A big boat coming through, little boats coming through. You get the herons roosting in the spring. I see seals and sea lions. I see beavers out here," Phil Hammond, who lives in Ballard, said. For a couple of weeks each November, the Army Corps drains the 55-foot-high chamber to keep boats moving along. Carlyn Orians, who lives in West Seattle, said seeing the chamber empty offers a different perspective. “It’s so deep. It's deeper than you realize 'cause you don't usually see it completely empty,” Orians said.During the closure, heavy machinery is lowered into the chamber. The Army Corps of Engineers said crews are repairing metal rods to fight corrosion, replacing and repairing the large lock culvert valve that controls water flow and helps manage water levels, conducting inspections and completing other tasks.Alex Dee, visiting from California, said the maintenance closure offers a rare look inside the lock. “It is amazing. It's not every day you get to see a lock emptied out. There's tractors and stuff down there. And wow, the idea of cleaning barnacles,” Dee said.Barnacles must be scraped off the walls of the large tunnels that move water in and out of the locks. The barnacles can be harmful to migrating salmon, which can get cut when swimming against the walls.Orians said visitors can even notice changes during the maintenance work. “You notice a smell, but it's actually cool to see the equipment down there and the maintenance going on and the birds pecking at the walls to see what's exposed that they can get at,” she said.The Ballard Locks operate like a boat elevator, using gates to lower or raise boats moving through the area. The water level of Puget Sound is lower than the fresh water of Salmon Bay. Depending on the tides, the locks and associated facilities can raise and lower water levels in the locks to allow vessels to go through.Last year, the Army Corps of Engineers said 27,000 vessels used the locks to move from Puget Sound to Lake Union or Lake Washington, and vice versa.The large lock is slated to reopen on Nov. 20. The small lock is open for boat traffic.</div></body>

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SEATTLE — The Ballard Locks, one of the busiest boat locks in the world, are temporarily closed while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drains the deep chamber for annual maintenance work that includes scraping barnacles that can harm migrating salmon. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, known as the...

Ballard Locks close as crews scrape barnacles harmful to salmon

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SEATTLE — The Ballard Locks, one of the busiest boat locks in the world, are temporarily closed while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drains the deep cham

Ballard Locks close as crews scrape barnacles harmful to salmon

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