PITTSBURGH — A bipartisan group of southwestern Pennsylvania legislators are urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do more to solve navigational and water depth issues that have occurred after challenges in removing the Elizabeth Dam on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh earlier this summer.
The long-planned dam removal was supposed to make the Mon River navigation much easier. It’s a key waterway in the Port of Pittsburgh for coal and industrial shipments as well as recreational boating. But lower-than-expected water levels following the first stage of taking down the bridge in early July led to major challenges for the companies that depend on the Mon River for commerce; barges weren’t able to be sent fully loaded through that area.
The Army Corps of Engineers and a contractor sped up the work of demolition and removal of the dam debris, and barges were allowed to go into the channel with more normal-sized loads at a nine-foot draft, the common depth for barges. But lawmakers — including U.S. Sen Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, U.S. Rep Guy Reschenthaler R-14th District, U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-17th District, and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-12th District — sent a letter to Army Corps of Engineers commander Lt. Gen. William H. Graham Jr. urging more.
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