The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District has awarded a nearly $770 million contract to the Pittsburgh-based joint venture Trumbull-Brayman Construction Corp. to build a new lock chamber at Montgomery Locks and Dam in Monaca, Pennsylvania on the Ohio River, according to a USACE news release.
The JV, made of Pittsburgh-based builders Trumbull Corp. and Brayman Construction Corp., will remove the 56-foot-by-360-foot auxiliary lock chamber and construct a new, 110-foot-by-600-foot primary lock chamber, according to the release.
The contract is part of the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, which includes the construction of new primary lock chambers at the Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks and dams in Emsworth, Moon Township and Monaca, Pennsylvania, respectively.
USACE received more than $1 billion toward the undertaking from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The USACE said work to deconstruct the auxiliary lock chamber will begin in spring 2025. After the auxiliary chamber is removed, Trumbull-Brayman will begin construction of the new primary lock chamber. River vessels will continue using the existing primary lock chamber until the new lock chamber is complete.
The Montgomery Locks are critical for U.S. infrastructure, USACE said in the release. The nearly century-old locks enable the transport of 12 million tons of goods annually on barges into and out of the Port of Pittsburgh. In contrast, it would take over 100,000 railcars or 400,000 trucks to move the same amount of cargo.
“This project is vital to ensuring safe and reliable navigation on the upper Ohio River,” said Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, in the release. “With the contract awarded, we are ready to advance this critical infrastructure for the region and the nation.”
