PITTSBURGH – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District is prioritizing the opening of a 100-foot-wide navigation channel through the dam at Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 near Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, by August 28.
The Pittsburgh District initially breached the dam using controlled explosives on July 10.
The district, while working with the contractor, will open a 100-foot-wide navigation channel through the existing dam, restoring a 9-foot draft to allow commercial navigation through the dam without using the lock. The district is committed to completing the 100-foot channel work by Aug. 28. The original projected timeline for opening the channel to navigation was December 2024.
“We are committed to opening the 100-foot-wide channel through the dam for commercial navigations as safely and expeditiously as possible.” said Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the Pittsburgh District.
After the dam is removed, the district will begin to demolish the lock walls next year. Demolishing the navigation facility at Elizabeth is part of a larger Lower Monongahela River Project, a multi-decade investment by the federal government that began in 1992 to revitalize one of the oldest inland navigation systems in the nation. The project has invested approximately $1.1 billion in the region through its construction.
The improvements made on the Monongahela River will save commercial tows at least one hour of transit between Braddock and Charleroi by providing a wider lock chamber at Charleroi and removing the locks and dam in Elizabeth. Once complete, the project is expected to provide a benefit of $200 million annually to the economy through cost time savings in transporting commodities through the region using inland navigation and reduced maintenance investments.
The three lock and dam facilities included in this project are the oldest currently operating navigation facilities on the Monongahela River. The dams create deep navigation pools for the primary purpose of commercial navigation. The pools are also popular with recreational boaters and provide access for industrial and municipal water intakes. These locks experience the highest volume of commercial traffic on the entire Monongahela River Inland Marine Transportation System.
During the demolition process at Elizabeth, and until a 100-foot navigable channel is opened, commercial vessels will continue to use the lock chambers to avoid interference with the floating plant operating around the dam’s breach site. Safety markers and signs will direct navigation around the construction site to our locks to maintain everyone’s safety. Recreational boaters will continue to use the lock until the dam is completely removed and the full navigation channel is opened.
Contractors will remove the rest of the dam in 50-foot sections using a series of explosives drilled into the concrete dam. They have been using cranes, excavators, hydraulic hammers and drills on barges to remove rubble from the river. The Pittsburgh District plans to reuse much of the demolished material from the locks and dam to stabilize the dam abutment and the land wall. The district will also use the material to fill in the filling and emptying culvert inside the land wall.