The region’s economy could be at risk, as well as its environment and even highways if one aging chokepoint is not addressed – the Ballard Locks. Needed work on the 100-year-old facility could take ...

Named after an engineer who played a key role in their development, the Chittenden Locks are the busiest in the country, with as many as 50,000 vessels passing through each year. Locals typically call ...

It’s a big weekend at the Ballard Locks as sockeye salmon return as part of their journey upstream to spawn. The sockeye travel 40-50 miles upriver to spawn in Lake Washington during the summer. Every ...

Three years ago, a Washington state senator from Ferndale introduced a bill to study the costs and benefits of breaching the Ballard Locks. Republican Doug Ericksen, who died in 2021, didn’t really ...

Editor’s note: Pacific NW magazine’s weekly Backstory provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the writer’s process or an extra tidbit that accompanies our cover story. This week’s cover story takes a ...

The small lock of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, also known as the Ballard Locks, will close next week as a maintenance crew installs a new timber to fix a leak. The small lock will be shut down for ...