Army Corp of Engineers Improving Morgantown's Lock and Dam
Facility
WBOY
21 October 2014
By Jeff Schrock, Randolph, Tucker & Upshur County
Reporter/Anchor
Video and expanded content at http://www.wboy.com/story/26850884/army-corp-of-engineers-improving-morgantowns-lock-and-dam-facility
MORGANTOWN - The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are working to
improve Morgantown's Lock and Dam facility.
It has brought in its repair fleet from Neville Island, Pa. to the
Morgantown Lock and Dam. It's making some maintenance repairs that
the corp said are necessary.
"We were pretty much at the point where we couldn't maintain the
level in the lock chamber, without leaving the filling values open
while we we're trying to bring vessels down. That would have
continued to get worse, it's been getting worse for the last 18-24
months, and eventually we would have not been able to operate the
lock," said Richard Lockwood, chief, Army corp of engineers
operations division.
The lock and dam is one of nine navigation structures that provide
year-round navigation on the Monongahela River between Pittsburgh
and Fairmont. Workers will also work to get two of the six dam
gates functioning again. The corp said this infrastructure is
critical to the inland marine transportation system and national
supply chain.
"Each one of these facilities is critical in the capability for
moving materials, people, and goods to the rest of the world from
the rest of the world," Lockwood said.
Upper Mon River Association President Barry Palley said the Mon
River is essential for commerce and recreation, and that can't be
done unless locks like Morgantown are in working order.
"What we want to do is increase commerce on the river, we want to
increase recreation, and we want to reopen the locks at Opekiska
and Hildebrand. The focus here though is the maintenance of these
locks and repair that we need to do," said Palley.
The corp said the original plan was to be out in early November.
But due to the increase in the scope of work, the corp now looks
to be finished before Thanksgiving.