1936 Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River

(Satellite)

Michel Sauret Photo via USACE

USACE Pittsburgh District posted

Let’s turn back the clock to 1932, just outside Pittsburgh, where crews were working hard pouring concrete for the riverside wall of the under-construction Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River.

USACE contractors didn’t just build a lock— they shaped the river. Once the Montgomery lock was up and running, it replaced three older wooden wicket dams — locks and dams 4, 5, and 6 — structures that had raised the first shallow navigation pool on this stretch of the Ohio River.

Those early wickets did their job, but rivers back then were unpredictable. Shallow depths made navigation tough — sometimes impossible — for commercial and recreational boats. That’s why the system we have today matters.

Locks and dams turned Pittsburgh’s rivers into year-round transportation corridors by moving goods, supporting the navigation industry, and connecting our region to the world.

USACE

USACE Pittsburgh District posted
Here’s another old postcard! Though this postcard is from long ago, Montgomery Locks and Dam still operates along the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the three Upper Ohio projects receiving upgrades in the coming years. 

USACE Pittsburgh District posted

Today's foggy veil may cloak the Ohio River. However, check out this snapshot of a towboat shepherding a caravan of 15 barges, most filled with coal, toward the Montgomery Locks and Dam in Monaca, Pennsylvania, from Jan. 23!

💡 Did you know the Ohio River is a titan of transportation? It shuttles roughly 15 to 20 million tons of goods every year. It's not just about coal; this water highway carries a diverse cargo including steel, petroleum products, and much more. 📊

Fog may obscure our view today, but it can't dim the Ohio River's vital role in our economy and community life. Our locks are in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in all types of weather.  Join us in thanking our lock and dam operators and celebrating the river's might and wish for clear skies ahead! 🌤️🌊

👋 Share your own river tales in the comments. 

📷by Michel Sauret 

6 photos of cjmahan replacing gates 6-8 in 2015 for $7.6m.

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cjmahan

Feb 2023:

USACE Pittsburgh District posted

Imagine a retaining wall made of columns built into the bedrock of the Ohio River. The wall is only 50 feet long, but it pierces 25 to 40 feet into the ground -- completely underwater.

It may seem small, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District recently finished the secant pile wall for massive construction to move forward at Montgomery Locks and Dam in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

Read the full story here: https://rb.gy/fxu2wu

Fort Loudoun Lock shared
Here's a terrific post from the Pittsburgh District Corps of Engineers that will be especially interesting for all of you Engineering minded folks out there! Enjoy! 

Alan Jones: Very interesting, thanks for posting! By the way, if you are interested in the Corps Nashville district's history beginning in the late 1700's, you might enjoy this read.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x002198452...

I bet most folks don't know that the James gang robbed one of their projects back in the 1800's. You can order the book online or read it from the above link on Google Docs.

Search for Engineers on the Twin Rivers by Leland R. Rogers.

The document is in the Public Domain.

Apr 2023:

USACE Pittsburgh District posted five images with the comment:

The Montgomery Locks and Dam will go through major construction in the next decade to build a new, larger lock funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

The #BIL awarded funding of more than $857 million to Montgomery to improve river navigation. 💰

The current 360-foot auxiliary chamber is being replaced with a much wider and longer 600-foot chamber that can fit up to 9 barges at one time. Once it begins, construction is estimated to take approximately eight years. 🚢

The Montgomery Dam has been in place for nearly 100 years. This #megaproject will help ensure that the dam is there for 100 more. 👍

[There are some comments about the new lock being too small and about it being ready just in time for barge traffic to dry up. (Probably because most of the barge traffic is coal.)]

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