Road Over Hells Canyon Dam Will Be Closed Saturday During Power Plant Repairs

By Garrett Christensen on Friday, June 9th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

HELLS CANYON — (Release from Idaho Power) The road over Hells Canyon Dam will close at 10 a.m. Mountain Time on Saturday, June 10, while Idaho Power crews replace damaged equipment at the power plant.

The closure will last several hours. No vehicles or pedestrians will be allowed to cross. Idaho Power plans to reopen the road as soon as it is safe to do so, probably mid-afternoon. Idaho Power will send out a follow-up notice when the road has reopened.

The work is necessary to replace equipment damaged by someone shooting at the power plant late Thursday night. A suspect was arrested Friday morning.

Located 21 miles downstream of Oxbow Dam, Hells Canyon Dam is the third and last project in the Hells Canyon Project. It began generating electricity in 1967 and has a generating capacity of 391,500 kilowatts, making it the second-largest of Idaho Power’s 17 hydropower facilities.