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WSDOT is studying how transportation might be affected by proposed removal of dams on the Snake River in southeast Washington. Currently, barges transport goods along the Snake and Columbia Rivers to deep water ports for export to national and international markets. If the dams are removed, those barges would no longer be able to operate, and goods would instead need to be moved by truck or train.
History
The Snake River originates in Wyoming, and travels across southern Idaho before turning north along the Idaho-Oregon border. The river then enters Washington and flows west to the Columbia River.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, the federal government built four large locks and dams on the Lower Snake River: Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite. There has been interest in removing these dams for the benefit of salmon, steelhead, Pacific lamprey, bull trout, sturgeon and other native fish species.
To better understand the effects of removing the dams on transportation, the Washington State Legislature asked WSDOT to conduct an analysis of the effects of shifting the movement of freight and goods that currently move by barge to instead be transported by truck and rail.
How to participate
This online open house provides information about the study, timeline, initial findings and next steps. There are a few questions throughout the study to help confirm data and better understand your concerns. Your answers will be anonymous.
This online open house will be accessible from Nov. 15 to Dec. 6, 2024.
Background
Recent studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration (July 2020) and another by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (September 2022), explored in detail the benefits and drawbacks of many aspects of removing the lower Snake River dams.
However, the transportation system effects of removing these lower Snake River dams have not been sufficiently addressed in past studies. As a result, the 2023-2025 Supplemental Transportation Budget (ESHB 2134, Section 217 (9)), set by the Washington State Legislature, directed WSDOT to conduct a study of highway, local roads, and freight rail transportation impacts and needs if the dams were removed. This study fulfills that request by the Legislature.
Timeline
This study is being conducted in four phases. Phase 1 of this study began in April 2024 and will conclude in December of 2024. During this portion of the study, WSDOT will assemble and analyze information on barge and goods movement as well as on truck and train movement. This phase also includes the development of a Total Logistics Cost (TLC) model that will estimate how much freight traffic might shift from current barge operations to other modes of transportation.
