Tug crew clears winter debris from top of falls

A crew of gutsy workers is doing a risky job on the lip of the Willamette Falls.

Workers from Wilsonville Concrete Products are completing a special job for Portland General Electric’s West Linn power plant, removing the winter build up of logs and debris that pile up against the dam.

Wilsonville Concrete Products, owned by long-time West Linn residents, the Bernert family, use a tug and barge-mounted crane along with a debris barge to do the job, which is conducted every summer.

“This is dangerous annual work that the Bernert family has been doing for many, many years and is expert at,” said Sandy Carter of One Willamette River Coalition and Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation.

Some new safety equipment is being install, and the new handrails should make future work both faster and easier.