Channel opening to be expedited

It’s now expected to be open to river traffic in September rather than December.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District has decided to expedite the opening of a 100-foot-wide navigation channel through the dam at Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 near Elizabeth before September.

Locks and Dam 3 has been in continuous operation since 1907 to provide lockages for industry vessels and recreational boaters, leading up to its demolition.

On July 10, the first of a series of controlled explosions was scheduled to remove the fixed-crest dam. Upon completion, it will create a continuous pool of riverway stretching 30 miles from Charleroi to Braddock.

However, strong winds led to choppy water that pushed back the first explosion until July 11.

The dam’s removal work will continue through December.

Until the Corps removes the entire dam and verifies the navigation channel is safe, all traffic must pass through the landside lock.

Demolition is expected to continue each week, with 13 more controlled explosions required to take down the rest of the dam in 50-foot sections. Contractors then will use excavators on barges to remove the rubble from the river.

After the dam is removed and the riverway is cleared, waterway users can navigate through the area without using the lock chambers.

The day after the first explosion, that portion of the river reopened for commercial navigation, but it remained closed to recreational traffic and boaters.

On July 15, the Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 staff discovered an issue with the water level in the primary lock chamber, leading to the implementation of a 7-footdraft restriction.

The navigation industry continues to utilize the lock chamber within this navigational restriction to preserve navigation and avoid the possibility of damaging vessels or the lock chamber itself.

Although the lock remains in service, the district recognizes the restriction’s impacts on industry and is working with its contractor to open the navigation channel through the existing fixedcrest dam, eliminating the need to use the locks.

“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.

The original projected timeline for opening the channel to navigation was December.

While construction is ongoing to establish the in-dam channel, industry will have full use of the lock chamber within the 7-foot-draft restriction. Once the district has established the channel, commercial traffic will be able to use it.

Until contractors have completely removed the dam, recreation vessels will continue using the lock at Elizabeth so as not to interfere with commercial navigation.

The river is anticipated to reopen by the end of the year.

The Pittsburgh District will then move onto the next phase of removing the lock walls in 2025, with work expected to last until 2027.

The demolition is part of the Lower Monongahela River Project.

Once complete, the project is expected to bring an economic benefit of $200 million annually, including costtime savings in transporting commodities through the region using inland navigation and reduced maintenance costs.