Army Corps to spend $12.9M to install new gates at Beaver County locks-and-dam facility

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District plans to spend $12.9 million to install two new dam lift gates and a new control system at the Montgomery Locks and Dam along the Ohio River in Beaver County.

The Montgomery facility is third-busiest navigation facility in the region with 17 million tons of commodities going through its locks and dam, said Carol Vernon, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh.

“This work is so important because it ensures the Montgomery facility will continue and keep open the most economical and environmentally friendly movement of goods, which is river transportation,” she said.

Unlike the fixed-crest dams on the Allegheny River, the dam at the Montgomery facility opens and closes to let water flow in and out to keep the pool of water at the proper elevation for commercial river traffic.

The Montgomery Dam was built in 1934. An inspection in 2006 revealed significant deterioration problems. Later that year, a tow barge struck the upstream guide wall. Three barges separated from the tow and destroyed two gates.

“The loss of any of the gates could have resulted in the loss of the pool and could have possibly stopped commercial traffic, which would have negative effects on the region and the nation’s economy,” said David Heidish, project manager for the Pittsburgh District.

Eight of Montgomery’s 10 dam gates already have been replaced. The recent contract, awarded to Joseph B. Fay Company of Pittsburgh, is the continuation of three previous gate replacement contracts.

Installation of the new gates is scheduled to begin in spring 2021 and work is expected to be completed in early 2023.