Lower Monongahela River Project public information session set
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Courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District
A public information session is scheduled Dec. 12 to update the Lower Monongahela River Project.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District is hosting a public information session from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Elizabeth Borough Fire Hall, 107 Market St., to provide an update on the Lower Monongahela River Project as it nears the final phase.
The session is a forum for to learn about the project’s progress and future, and address community questions. It will consist of a 60-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer segment.
Stations will be available after the presentation for community members to engage district experts one-on-one about topics such as the project’s history, current status, river levels, potential effects to nearby residents’ personal property,and upcoming project activity.
“Many of these improvements go unnoticed by the residents and communities bordering the river,” said Steve Fritz, the district’s megaproject program manager. “However, there will be noticeable changes to river levels in 2024.”
In 1994, USACE began modernizing locks 2, 3 and 4 on the lower Monongahela River in the Braddock, Elizabeth and Charleroi communities, respectively. USACE will begin removing Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 in mid-2024. Removing Locks and Dam 3 is the final phase of the project after completing construction work at Locks and Dam 4 in Charleroi. The initial phase was completed in 2004 and included major construction work at Locks and Dam 2 in Braddock.
“This signifies the culmination of 30 years of engineering and construction efforts to modernize the navigation facilities on the lower Monongahela River,” Fritz said. “In addition to providing reliable river navigation for the next century, this project will return more than $200 million in annual benefits to the region and nation.”
Locks and Dams 2, 3, and 4 on the Monongahela River in Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties are the three oldest operating navigation facilities on the Monongahela River.
The locks experience the highest volume of commercial traffic on the entire Monongahela River navigation system, and the pools created by the facilities provide industrial and municipal water and are popular with recreational boaters.
