The following is an excerpt from pages 9-11 of A Report on A Proposed Highway Bridge Across the Columbia River at Umatilla, Oregon for Umatilla County, Oregon, Benton County, Washington, Oregon Highway Commission, Washington Toll Authority, September, 1952. Part I, Tudor Engineering Company
3. McNary Dam
Approximately 3 miles upstream from the Umatilla bridge site the Federal Government is now building McNary Dam. This is a $281,650,000 project which is designed to hav an installed electrical generating capacity of 980,000 KW. It will also include a navigation locak and will substantially improve navigation to beyond Pasco, Washington. Plans include provision for limited additional irrigation on both sides of the the river.
The dam is more than half completed and is scheduled to start producing power late in 1953.
Since the pool behind the completed dam will flood substantial portions of Highway No. 730 as far upstream as Wallula, it was necessary to close and rebuild this section from March 3, 1950 to June 16, 1951. It was primarily for this reason that the Federal Government and the State of Washington joined to improve State Highways No. 8 between Kennewich and Umatilla. This route served as a detour for part of the traffic that ordinarily used U.S. Highway No. 730. the effect of this on traffic is discussed in detail by Coverdale and Colpitts in Part II of this report.
During the initial stages of construction of the dam and until it was possible to cross the river on the structure itself, the Government and the Contractor maintained separate private ferry services at the site of the work and did not use the Umatilla Ferry.
The dam is not designed to provide a highway crossing of the river.
It is probably that most of the power to be generated at McNary Dam will be exported to load centers nearer Portland and Seattle. This has been the experience of Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams. However, neither of the latter projects are located at points where industrial development is reasonable [sic] possible. While Bonneville Dam is adjacent to adequate highway, water and railroad transportation, it is located in the heart of the Columbia Gorge with virtually no room for industrial sites. Grand Coulee on the other hand is served by two railroads, a good highway net and a navigable channel. There is ample room in the immediate vicinity for industrial development. In view of these very favorable factors and since industries which are located within fifteen miles of the dam may purchase power at a 20 percent reduction, it is reasonable to expect that at least a limited industrial development will be realized in this vicinity.
