Associated Press
28 October 2008
By Dan Nephin
Pittsburgh
A dam on the Allegheny River is so eroded it could fail if it is hit by a barge or a large ice load, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will seek bids to repair the damage.
Inspectors found more erosion than they anticipated on a recent dive at the Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 6 near Freeport, a concrete structure about 30 miles upriver from Pittsburgh.
For now, there is no immediate threat to public safety and the lock is operational, said Corps spokesman Jeff Hawk.
Should the dam fail, a 9-foot-deep pool above it that allows commercial and recreational traffic to navigate would dry up, as would some wetlands and the source of drinking water for some communities.
The Corps plans to solicit bids for repairs on Nov. 10. Six contractors attended a preconstruction meeting on Tuesday, but the Corps does not have a cost estimate, Hawk said. Work is expected to be finished in January and river traffic should not be affected.
The dam's problems show the need for funding to upgrade the region's aging locks and dams, the Corps said.
The Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers make up a sort of water highway upon which millions of tons of coal, chemicals, metals and other cargo are shipped annually. Locks are essentially water-driven elevators that lift and lower boats so they can pass through dams that control water levels.
In July, the Corps outlined its infrastructure problems in the region, saying the 100-year-old lock and dam at Elizabeth, south of Pittsburgh, and those at Emsworth northwest of the city are "critically near failure." Several others are not much better, the Corps said.
Much of the work has been deferred because of federal budget constraints.