Crooked River Lock opening for the season April 29

ALANSON — The Crooked River Lock is set to open for the season on April 29.

The lock was plagued by mechanical issues last year that caused closures and required critical maintenance repairs by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“We had been working with the Army Corps of Engineers, they’ve done their work and it looks like we’re ready to open the locks up,” said Emmet County Administrator David Boyer during the Emmet County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday. “They replaced the electrical problems that we were having problems with.”

Last year, the lock had a temporary malfunction on July 4, but Army Corps technicians were able to return it to full operation within 24 hours. An electrical malfunction on Aug. 24 kept the lock closed for the remainder of the summer and fall as replacement parts were sought out.

Boyer said they will soon have a backup generator on site, “so if we lose power we’ll be able to do that.”

More: Crooked River Lock in Alanson to remain closed for fall

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Commissioner Rich Ginop, who sits on the Crooked River Lock Consortium, also noted a potential issue with water levels this year.

“I understand that they close the locks to raise the water levels on the lakes, but we’re having a hard time getting the water levels up because it’s so dry this spring,” he said.

Boyer said they are concerned about the water levels throughout the area.

“Once they decide to close those gates, we hope that will bring that water level up,” he said. “It should bring it up, but it’s probably going to be a little bit challenging this year. We’ve gone from record highs to potentially record lows in a matter of four or five years.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, in conjunction with Emmet County, operates the lock under an agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The lock is part of the 36-mile Inland Waterway beginning at Lake Huron. An estimated 10,000 lockages are performed annually through the lock, which results in passage for up to 40,000 recreational boat passengers during the spring to fall season.

For more information about the Crooked River Lock, visit emmetcounty.org/parks-recreation/crooked-river-lock-2.

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Crooked River Lock opening for the season April 29