Pittsburgh District celebrates completion of newest lock chamber on Monongahela River
View SourceWith the snip of scissors and the blow of a towboat’s horn, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District celebrated the opening and renaming of the most modern lock on the Monongahela River after two decades of construction near Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Aug. 28.
The ceremony celebrated the renaming of Monongahela River Locks and Dam 4 in honor of the late Congressman John P. Murtha, who also served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. The ceremony highlighted 20 years of construction for a modernized chamber measuring 720 feet long by 84 feet wide, which replaces an older, smaller chamber. The construction also included a control tower with state-of-the-art systems and the potential to remote-control other facilities in the future. The new chamber expands the facility’s capacity to support commercial navigation throughout the region and the nation.