The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District is notifying recreational boaters that the upper Allegheny River and the upper Monongahela River locks will be open this summer during specific dates and times.

Through partnerships with the Allegheny River Development Corporation and the Upper Monongahela River Association, the Corps will provide locking service to recreational boaters.

The public-private partnership allows these organizations to propose a lock operations schedule for recreational traffic and to contribute funds to pay for lock operators. Without the ARDC and UMRA funding, the locks would be open and staffed for commercial navigation by appointment only due to historically low or no levels of barge traffic.

The locking service is dependent on operational and safety conditions at the facilities. With limited available maintenance funding, an unexpected repair could require a shutdown of the lock for an undetermined period of time.

In 2011, the Army Corps reduced service at low-commercial-use facilities, and established levels of service to ensure operations and maintenance funds were directed to critical, high-use locks.

Allegheny River Locks 6 through 9 will be open the weekend of May 24 and continue on weekends through Sept. 29. The Monongahela River locks at Opekiska and Hildebrand will be open starting Saturday, May 11.

The Allegheny Locks schedule is as follows:

Weekends, May 24-27 through Sept. 28-29, Allegheny locks 4 and 5 will be open each Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with exceptions for holidays and events. Locks 6, 7, 8 and 9 will be open each Saturday and Sunday from noon until 8 p.m. with the exception of holidays. Visit http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Lock-Service-Levels/ for the complete schedule.

The Monongahela Locks (Opekiska, Hildebrand) schedule is as follows:

To view navigation traffic and lock service status, please visit: http://corpslocks.usace.army.mil/lpwb/f?p=121:1:4132441642454097

For river conditions and navigation notices and charts, visit http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation.aspx.

As part of its navigation mission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh operates and maintains 23 lock and dam facilities on the area’s three main rivers – the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio. Pittsburgh District’s 26,000 square miles include portions of western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, western Maryland and southwestern New York.

Our jurisdiction includes more than 328 miles of navigable waterways, 23 navigation locks and dams, 16 multi-purpose flood-risk management reservoirs, 42 local flood protection projects and other projects to protect and enhance the nation’s water resources, infrastructure and environment.

KNOW.TAKE.WEAR. Know the waterways. Take a water safety course. Wear your life jacket.

CONTACT: Public Affairs Office at 412-395-7500 or Email: CELRP-PA@usace.army.mil

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