A joint venture in Pittsburgh has been awarded a $770M contract to construct a new lock chamber at the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. This project, funded by President Biden's Infrastructure Law, aims to modernize critical infrastructure, supporting over 13,000 jobs during construction and ensuring safe navigation for the U.S. supply chain.
Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District/Michel Sauret
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District contractor unties a work boat from a floating worksite during a concrete pier-repair project at Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Monaca, Pa.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Pittsburgh District has awarded a nearly $770 million contract through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to construct a new 110-ft. by 600-ft. lock chamber at Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Monaca, Pa.
The construction also has an agreement in place providing for union labor, per the president's executive order on Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, the USACE announced Dec. 10.
Montgomery Locks is a critical element of the U.S. supply chain network as it enables the transport of 12 million tons of goods annually on barges into and out of the Port of Pittsburgh. The locks are nearly a century old and are at an increased risk of failure that would severely disrupt the country's supply chains.
The BIL invested more than $1 billion in the Upper Ohio Navigation Project to include modernizing Montgomery Locks. In addition, the project is the largest BIL-funded project in Pennsylvania and will support more than 13,000 jobs during its construction.
USACE awarded the lock and dam construction contract to the Trumbull-Brayman Construction Corp. Joint Venture, based in Pittsburgh. The initial work involves removing the 56-ft. by 360-ft, auxiliary chamber and building the massive new primary lock chamber.
"Completing the new lock chamber's plan marks a significant achievement for the district's team," said Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the USACE Pittsburgh District. "This project is vital to ensuring safe and reliable navigation on the upper Ohio River. With the contract awarded, we are ready to advance this critical infrastructure for the region and the nation."
The USACE expects the deconstruction of the auxiliary lock chamber to begin next spring, followed by crews getting to work shortly afterward on the new primary lock chamber. Plans call for river vessels to continue to use the existing primary lock chamber until the new chamber is finished.
Concrete repair work is already under way on all 11 dam piers at the Montgomery facility, a process that will take about a year to complete and prepares the dam for its future construction.
With the dam being almost 90 years old, the piers require repairs and resurfacing every few years to keep them structurally sound for the long term. The USACE last completed this type of work at Montgomery in 2022.
"This award marks a major milestone for the project and is the culmination of years of planning and engineering," explained Chris Dening, the project manager of the USACE's Pittsburgh District. "Once complete, the new lock chamber at Montgomery will support reliable river navigation for years to come."
Open Ohio River Is Critical to U.S. Economy
The effort is part of the multi-billion-dollar Upper Ohio Navigation project, which includes constructing new primary lock chambers at the Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks, as well as to dams in the southwest Pennsylvania communities of Emsworth, Moon Township and Monaca.
The USACE built the Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks and dams in the mid-1930s, and said that by 2024, each of them had reached the end of their operational lifespan and are experiencing structural aging.
Additionally, the federal agency noted that the river navigation industry needs larger chambers for modern commercial barges.
It is expected that the entire series of Upper Ohio Navigation projects, in total, will support more than 28,000 jobs during construction and 5,300 jobs annually after completion.
The USACE prefers to keep its system of smaller river locks open during construction and maintenance activities, if possible, to avoid causing navigational bottlenecks if they are closed.
The economic impact cannot be overlooked either as a one-year closure at Montgomery Locks and Dam would cost the U.S. economy nearly $180 million. The roughly 12 million tons of cargo also would require more than 100,000 railcars or 400,000 trucks to compensate for the closure.
The Pittsburgh District of the USACE encompasses 26,000 sq. mi. and includes parts of western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, western Maryland and southwestern New York state.
Its jurisdiction has more than 328 mi. of navigable waterways, 23 navigation locks and dams, 16 multi-purpose reservoirs, 42 local flood-protection projects and other projects to protect and enhance the U.S.'s water resources, infrastructure and environment.
Today's top stories
