In the natural state of the Columbia River, there was an 8-mile (13 km) stretch from The Dalles to Celilo Falls that was impassable upstream and navigable downstream only at high water and at great risk.

In 1858, a 19-mile (31 km)-long wagon road, the Oregon Portage Railroad, had been built around the falls on the south side of the river.

There are some counties in this region which are entirely destitute of railroads, and their commercial products are hauled from 50 to 75 miles (121 km) to the nearest stations by freighting outfits.

As the improvement referred to will allow craft carrying nearly a thousand tons to ply upon the upper Columbia, It must be regarded as one of the most important engineering projects which has yet been undertaken by the government.The federal government spent 5 million dollars on its construction.

Only in the late 1930s did the development of wheat barge traffic, eventually driven by diesel towboats, become an important transport method on the Columbia River.