Work has slowly begun to repair the Crooked River Lock in Alanson, which connects Pickerel and Crooked Lakes with the rest of the Inland Waterway.  The Crooked River Lock is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.  After threats to shut down the lock this year due to lack of funding for necessary repairs, local residents and businesspeople have been lobbying our legislators in Lansing and Washington to find a solution to ensure that the lock remains open to navigation. 

The DNR has removed the reduction gears from the lock and sent them to a Detroit area machine shop for repair.  There is no timetable for the repairs on the lock to be completed, which is worriesome to local businesses, who depend on the lock and the boating traffic it generates for their livelihood.  Hopefully the Corp and the DNR can get their act together to ensure that the lock, which is vital to our local tourism industry, opens up in time for our short summer boating season.