MONACA, PA — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District has awarded a nearly $770 million contract to construct a new 110-foot by 600-foot lock chamber at Montgomery Locks and Dam in Monaca, Pennsylvania.
The district awarded the construction contract to the joint venture, Trumbull-Brayman Construction Corporation, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The contract serves as the base contract to begin constructing the new lock chamber. Additional funding for other work items necessary to complete the chamber will be awarded later in the project’s timeline.
The work is part of the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, which includes constructing new primary lock chambers at the Emsworth, Dashields, and Montgomery locks and dams in Emsworth, Moon Township, and Monaca, Pennsylvania, respectively. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Corps of Engineers received more than $1 billion to be used for the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, which includes construction of the new chamber at Montgomery Locks and Dam.
The work involves removing the 56-foot by 360-foot auxiliary lock chamber and constructing a new 110-foot by 600-foot primary lock chamber.
“Completing the new lock chamber’s plan marks a significant achievement for the district’s team,” said Colonel Nicholas Melin, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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.”
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Work to deconstruct the auxiliary lock chamber is expected to begin in spring 2025. After the auxiliary chamber is removed, construction of the new primary lock chamber will begin. River vessels will continue using the existing primary lock chamber until the new lock chamber is complete.
“This award marks a major milestone for the project and is the culmination of years of planning and engineering,” said Chris Dening, Project Manager, Pittsburgh District. “Once complete, the new lock chamber at Montgomery will support reliable river navigation for years to come.”
Montgomery Locks is a critical element of national supply chains, enabling 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 these supply chains.
The Corps of Engineers built the Emsworth, Dashields, and Montgomery locks and dams in the mid-1930s. The facilities have reached the end of their operational lifespan and are experiencing structural aging. Larger chambers are also needed for modern commercial barges. The Corps of Engineers expects the lock chamber contract to support more than 13,000 jobs during construction. The Upper Ohio Navigation Project has a project-labor agreement in place. It is expected to support more than 28,000 jobs during construction and 5,300 jobs annually after completion.
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Maintenance activities on these smaller locks can cause navigational bottlenecks if the locks are closed to perform the work. The economic impact of a one-year closure at Montgomery Locks and Dam would cost the U.S. economy nearly $150 million. The roughly 12 million tons of cargo would require more than 100,000 railcars or 400,000 trucks to compensate for the closure. New, larger chambers will provide reliable, efficient, and sustainable navigation on the upper Ohio River.
