Challenges of river traffic in Pittsburgh

On a random day at 8AM in Pittsburgh, you're likely to see a barge on one of the three rivers.  On one of those recent spring mornings, Channel 11 was along for the ride. Katherine Amenta was given an exclusive tour of the Jonathan Robert Murray, which was pushing a load of coal.

The boat, owned by Murray American, picked up our Channel 11 team in Donora. The boat's crew wanted to show us the challenges of river traffic in Pittsburgh, why it's important, and how to stay safe boating next to one of the massive hauls.

It was a Murray American tow boat that had 12 barges break free on the river back in January. Until the barges were secured, and inspections done, several bridges were closed during the morning commute.

David Podurgiel is the vessel operations manager for Murray American River Towing. While he still can't talk to Channel 11 about the January incident, the company did say strong river currents had an effect on the boat that morning and caused the barges to break free.

Podurgiel was able to explain some of what we saw on Channel 11 that day, like barges sinking into the river.

"Coal is inert.  Right now, it's not a pollutant," Podurgiel said. "The fear when people see it go into the water, they think it's going to pollute the river.  It doesn't."

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These boats and barges are pretty much the backbone of everything we do in Pittsburgh.  They tow coal to keep your lights on, road salt to keep you safe in the winter, fertilizer to help farmers, and fuel for planes at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Plus, just one tow on the river means more than one thousand trucks are kept off the parkways.

"We can remove, with one 15 barge tow, 1025 dump trucks off the road," Podurgiel said.

Now, as the weather gets warmer, Podurgiel is facing the challenge of recreational boaters.  He's asking for help. He said if you hear a tow boat blow it's horn even once, get out of the way.

"If you're coming up the river and have a full tow and you have to stop, it might take you up to a half mile to a mile to stop," Podurgiel said.  "Just give us room and stay to the sides.  Don't try to play chicken with us."

Podurgiel added when barges are filled with coal, the captain's line is sight is okay, but when barges are empty, they float up and are ten feet higher.   That may make it harder for a captain to see a recreational boater on the river.

Cox Media Group