The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District is alerting mariners of long delays at Emsworth Lock and Dam and Dashields Lock and Dam on the Ohio River from March 5 to June 8 due to scheduled critical maintenance.
The work will require the closure of the facilities’ primary lock chambers. Auxiliary lock chambers at each facility will remain open during the maintenance.
The work is scheduled to begin March 5 after midnight and end before midnight on June 8.
High water conditions may delay the start and progress of some work. The district will continue to provide updates regarding how a delay will affect the timeline.
The scheduled closure of the aging primary chambers is necessary to address critical maintenance needed to reduce the risk of unscheduled closures and maintain the reliability of the navigation facilities.
To help reduce some of the wait time for towboats, tows are not permitted to add or swap barges, change crews or take on stores once the tows turn has been established.
Please see the navigation notices concerning restrictions and changes in locking through procedures for each lock.
See the Emsworth Navigation Notice NTNI Nbr. #8461 and Dashields Navigation Notice NTNI Nbr. # 8459, here: http://ntninotices.usace.army.mil/lpwb/f?p=150:1:0:::::
Additionally, during the closure period, commercial vessels will be given priority over recreational vessels when locking through. Recreational boaters should plan accordingly during the start of the recreation season.
The district’s navigation structures not only provide reliable river commerce, but also provide water supply for drinking, industrial use, firefighting and sanitation treatment. The sustained pools of water provided by navigation dams encourage economic development within the region.
To view navigation traffic and lock service status, please visit: http://corpslocks.usace.army.mil/lpwb/f?p=121:1:4132441642454097: or call L/D4 at 724.222.2666.
For river conditions and charts, visit http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/.
Marines can also contact the locks directly on Marine Radio Channel 13 for removal dates.
For more information, contact the Public Affairs Office at celrp-pa@usace.army.mil.