Army Corps keeps river traffic moving despite frigid temps, icy conditions
Whether it’s 100 degrees outside in summertime or 11 below zero like it was last weekend, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ crews are out manning the nearly two dozen locks and dam facilities in its Pittsburgh district keeping waterway traffic moving along the three rivers.
Even as the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers freeze during this prolonged cold snap, the Army Corps workers are out “exercising” the locks and moving ice through the chambers to maintain a navigable channel.
“All of our facilities – not only on the Mon, but the Allegheny and Ohio – are fully operational, and that’s a testament to our crews keeping things running in these cold conditions,” said Alan Nogy, who is chief of locks and dams for the Army Corps’ Pittsburgh District. “Obviously, the first challenge for my guys is the temperature. … Whether it’s 80 or 18 below, my guys are out there.”
The Army Corps in the Pittsburgh region maintains 22 locks and dam facilities leading to and from The Point. Eight are on the Monongahela extending from Pittsburgh to near Fairmont, W.Va.; eight are on the Allegheny from Brady’s Bend in Armstrong County; and six are on the Ohio River that extend to Hannibal, Ohio. While the extreme cold over the past two weeks has frozen portions of the Allegheny near The Point, there still remains a navigable channel for the more heavily traveled Monongahela and Ohio rivers.
But even if they’re not totally frozen over, ice gathering on top of the rivers can cause a blockage, so the crews have to continue operating the locks and move the ice through, otherwise the boats might not fit coming through the chambers.
“Just like we would lock a boat, we lock the ice and flush that ice through,” Nogy said. “Sometimes we do it even when the boats aren’t coming through.”
Their standard wintertime procedures involve “exercising the gates” just like a person would exercise a muscle to keep it in shape, Nogy said. He added that there are also “air bubblers” near the facilities to keep ice from building up and so it “doesn’t choke us out.”
“Our mission is to be open and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We don’t have anything holding us back for anything coming through our facilities,” Nogy said. “Ice lockage is just one of the things we’re doing. Multiple times a day our team is opening locks and gates, draining, doing anything to make sure we don’t slow down.”
While the Army Corps operates the locks and dam network, the rivers themselves are under the purview of the U.S. Coast Guard. Nogy said the locks and dams system is meant to keep the river navigable and not necessarily for flood control. The locks and dams help elevate or lower boats coming through the rivers as the elevation changes, ensuring the rivers are navigable year-round as water levels change.
“We are flow control, not flood control on our projects,” he said.
And now with Punxsutawney Phil predicting another six weeks of winter, the Army Corps crews will continue to be out braving the elements ensuring the locks and dam system is operating normally to help keep traffic moving on the three rivers. Nogy said that is a “testament” to the workers who man the 22 facilities, no matter the season.
“There’s probably a lot of people who live in this region who don’t realize the importance of river transportation as it relates to moving (commerce) on the rivers and the benefits to our region and nation,” Nogy said. “It’s our responsibility to keep it going. That’s what we’re doing day in and day out … no matter the conditions.”