The Ballard Locks will be closing at 4 p.m. today due to the federal government shutdown. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allow vessels through the locks today, but staffing limitations could cause longer locking times. The park grounds at the locks will close at 4 p.m., which means cyclists and walkers won’t have access to or through the park after that time, until government funding is restored.
The scheduled Oct. 2-3 closure of the locks have been cancelled. Navy divers were meant to prepare the Adult Salmon Exclusion Structure for normal winter operations, but will reschedule the work for a later date.
For a quick look at what is affected and what isn’t, click here for a Seattle Times article about the shutdown. Normal operations will resume when the federal government enacts 2014 funding legislation.
