Leaders in riverway commercial traffic visit Mega Project construction in Pittsburgh
Martin Hettel, vice president of government affairs for the American Commercial Barge Lines, listens to a presentation during the Inland Waterways Users Board meeting in Pittsburgh, April 13, 2023. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District hosted the tour and several briefings about ongoing and future inland navigation construction projects within the district. During the tour, Inland Waterways User Board (IWUB) members learned about the overall Lower Monongahela River navigation project and the new river chamber construction at Charleroi, which is in its final phase after nearly 20 years of construction. Members also listened to briefings about the overall Upper Ohio navigation project and its first major construction contract, the new Montgomery lock construction. IWUB is an industry federal-advisory committee representing all fuel-taxed inland waterway systems within the United States. The navigation industry contributes to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund through fuel taxes paid by carriers who transport bulk commodities on the inland waterway system. The board makes recommendations to Congress and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works on how best to invest federal and trust funds dollars to keep the most cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and safest form of transportation for bulk commodities resilient and reliable. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District photo by Michel Sauret)