US Army Corps of Engineers awards US$770m lock chamber contract

A downstream view of Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River near Monaca, Pennsylvania, US. (Image: USACE Pittsburgh District | Michel Sauret)

The contract is valued at US$770 million and was awarded to Trumbull-Brayman Construction Corporation, a JV of two Pittsburgh-based construction companies.

The USACE called Montgomery Locks and Dam “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 division said the locks are nearly one century old and are at an “increased risk of failure that would severely disrupt these supply chains.”

Earlier this year, crews repaired concrete on all 11 dam piers at the Montgomery facility.

Images | Contractors repair dam concrete ahead of $2.1bn reconstruction programme Contractors working for USACE repair concrete on piers of dam built in 1936

Work includes construction of a new 110-ft by 600-ft (33.5m by 183m) lock chamber at the Montgomery Locks and Dam, which is located on the Ohio River. Crews will also remove a 56-ft by 360-ft (17m by 110m) auxiliary lock chamber to make way for the new one.

The regional USACE division said, “Additional funding for other work items necessary to complete the chamber will be awarded later in the project’s timeline.”

Workers at Montgomery Locks and Dam. (Image: USACE Pittsburgh District | Michel Sauret)

“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.”

USACE added that 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,” USACE said. “River vessels will continue using the existing primary lock chamber until the new lock chamber is complete.”

The build is part of a grander regional scheme called the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, which is estimated to cost more than $2 billion. The scheme consists of activity at three separate sites (Monaca – where Montgomery Locks and Dam is located – Emsworth, and Dashields). Portions of the project are expected to finish as early as next year.

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