U.S. Senate bill earmarks $124 million for Mon River navigation projects
The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed an act that will deliver $124 million to continue navigation improvements on the Monongahela River, a project that is a decade behind schedule for completion.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which includes measures proposed last year in Pittsburgh by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, will direct money to continue building new locks at a dam along the river in Charleroi.
“Pennsylvania locks and dams play a vital role in creating and sustaining jobs and supporting economic growth throughout the country,” Casey, D-Pa., stated in a news release.
The navigation improvement plan, dating to the late 1980s, resulted in the construction of a new dam in Braddock and the work under way in Charleroi, replacing infrastructure that had been deemed dangerous due to its age. The river bottom must be dredged between Charleroi and Elizabeth before a dam there can be removed.