Army Corps to get $7.7 million to upgrade Upper Ohio River locks and dams

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will get $7.7 million for pre-construction engineering and design for its Upper Ohio River Navigation Project at the Emsworth, Dashshields and Montgomery locks and dams.

U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, announced the funding Tuesday as he and other lawmakers pursued the money to ensure the stability of the Montgomery Lock in Beaver County, which is at risk of catastrophic failure.

The Army Corps project entails replacing each auxiliary lock with a new larger lock chamber at all three Upper Ohio locks. These are the oldest and smallest locks on the Ohio River, which were built between 1919 and 1936, according to the agency.

Working with Lamb on the funding were fellow U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills; Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, and others.

“Rebuilding the Upper Ohio Navigation system will create and retain thousands of good jobs in southwestern Pa.,” Lamb said of project that garnered bipartisan support.

Doyle said he has been working for years to upgrade the aging locks and dams on the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, noting that commercial barges move more than 50 million tons of freight a year.

“That important commercial activity is only possible because the locks and dams along the three rivers keep water levels high enough for the barges carrying all that cargo,” Doyle said.

Reschenthaler noted that the Port of Pittsburgh is the third busiest inland port in the country and serves as the eastern gateway to other inland waterways.

Mary Ann Bucci, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, commended Lamb and the other lawmakers for coming through with the funding. “This is great news for our region and could not have happened without their focus on the importance of infrastructure to our local, state, and national economy.”