The Crooked River (Alanson) Lock on the popular Inland Waterway, which runs from Crooked Lake near Alanson to Lake Huron near Cheboygan, has closed temporarily to public boating use due to emergency repairs needed on the lock gate lifting mechanism.

A large drive gear in one of the four gearboxes that power the gate-lifting mechanism shattered, fracturing the gearbox housing. This equipment failure has rendered the lock inoperable.

The damage was discovered by Department of Natural Resources staff responsible for operating the lock this morning (July 17). Although the DNR made repairs to the lock gears last year, and purchased replacement gears in anticipation of future failures, a cracked gearbox has never occurred in the 40 year old equipment. The gearbox is no longer manufactured, and repair efforts will center on either finding a used gearbox or repairing the existing box. Fortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers was on-hand and they are currently in the process of finding a way to fix the lock.

"A repair date is difficult to estimate at this time, but we anticipate it will take approximately one week to 10 days to repair," said Gary Ellenwood, DNR district supervisor.

The lock will be closed and boaters will be unable to access the Crooked River from Crooked Lake until repairs can be completed. For updates on the status of the repairs, contact the District Supervisor at 906-293-5131.