ELIZABETH, Pa. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Pittsburgh District plans a public information meeting to provide an update on the Lower Monongahela River Project as it nears the final phase. The meeting will be held Thursday, May 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Elizabeth Forward High School at 1000 Weigles Hill Road.
The next phase of the project includes demolishing the dam near Elizabeth and open a newly constructed navigation lock near Charleroi this year.
The locks and dams on the Monongahela River in Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties are the oldest currently operating navigation facilities on the Monongahela River. They also experience the highest volume of commercial traffic on the entire Monongahela River navigation system, and the pools created by these facilities provide industrial and municipal water and are popular with recreational boaters.
Before and after the session there will be stations staffed with district experts to answer questions. The experts will be able to talk about the history of the project, status, river levels, and upcoming project activity.
“Many of the navigation improvements made on our rivers 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 the summer of 2024.”
Removing the Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 in mid-2024 is the final phase of the modernization project that began in 1994.
“This signifies the culmination of 30 years of engineering and construction efforts to modernize the navigation facilities on the lower Monongahela River,” said Fritz. “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.”