A contractor from Chico, Calif., will begin dynamiting solid rock in the Warrior Rock stretch of the Columbia just upstream of the Lewis River. The channel-deepening project … has involved cutting the shipping lane 3 feet deeper from Astoria to Portland. Lower river ports, which have been co-sponsors of the project, said the old 40-foot channel was becoming too shallow for big, modern freighters, forcing them to leave dock short of full loads. Port of Longview officials cite the channel-deepening project as a key reason why developers chose Longview for a new $200 million grain terminal under construction.
