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Pickup Gets Caught on Raised Drawbridge in Eastern WA. Driver Flees to Safety by Staff Tri-City Herald, June 3, 2025

A cruise ship heading upstream offloaded its passengers
below the dam and had them picked up

Little Goose Dam, Wash. -- A pickup that got stuck on a drawbridge at Little Goose Lock and Dam on the Snake River as it was raised Tuesday night slid backwards into the bridge pit, leaving the lock temporarily out of service.

The driver was not injured.

Two nongovernment janitors were leaving work Monday evening and crossing the small drawbridge across the dam's lock area where boats can bypass the dam northeast of Starbuck in Eastern Washington.

The first janitor crossed the bridge, which is just downstream from the dam on the south side of the river, without incident.

But after the lock operator gave the signal to raise the bridge to lock through a boat, the second worker began to cross it.

Their pickup had passed the bridge barrier when it started to close behind them, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

The driver tried to back off the bridge, hitting the arms of the barrier, but could not get through.

They abandoned the pickup and made it off the bridge as it continued to rise, according to the Army Corps. The pickup slid backward into the bridge pit, where it landed upright.

It remained there midday Tuesday.

With the lock inoperable, a cruise ship heading upstream offloaded its passengers below the dam and had them picked up, according to the Army Corps.

Work was underway Tuesday to reposition the pickup so the lock could resume operation.