U.S. Army Corps Fleet on Mon River
Repairs being made to Morgantown lock
Morgantown Dominion Post
30 August 2011
A repair fleet for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers is parked in the
Monongahela River this week for some repair work on gates in the locks
stretching across the river to control water flow.
A ladder from a maintenance barge allows
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers to get onto the metal gates to
make necessary repairs at the Morgantown Lock and
Dam. Bob Gay/The Dominion Post
The fleet has made its home in the quiet waters of the
upper pool of the Morgantown Lock and Dam while it works, Lock Operator
Greg Reel said.
The maintenance crew is changing transmission boxes on the gates
and welding stainless steel cladding to seal any pinholes on the “skin”
side of the iron gates.
The fleet has seven units moored in the upper pool: The main
pushing boat, a work boat that gets in around the lock, three equipment
barges and two derrick boats, one with a bridge crane, he said.
Reel said the fleet will leave at the end of the week for an
inspection job elsewhere, then return to complete its work at the
Morgantown Lock and Dams.
“It will go downstream to the Grays Landing Lock and Dam, dewater that
whole lock chamber, and do an inspection and maintenance before
returning here,” he explained.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers repair
fleet fills an area behind the Morgantown Lock and Dam as maintenance
staff replace some equipment and seal pinholes in the metal gates that
control the release of water. Bob Gay/The Dominion Post
Dewatering means the lock chamber is shut and all the water that
can be is pumped out to allow the maintenance staff to closely check
the walls and lock gates for deterioration.
This type of inspection is scheduled every 10 years, Reel said.
The Grays Landing Lock is on the Monongahela River about 20
minutes north of town, not far from Masontown, Pa.