Montgomery Lock and Dam Installation

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Montgomery Lock and Dam Installation

Location:	Monaca, PA
Owner:	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Construction Company:	Fay, S&B USA Construction
Project Status:	Construction began in Aug. 2020 and was completed in Nov. 2023

As a component of a larger program to improve the upper Ohio River navigation system, Fay, S&B USA Construction (Fay) removed and replaced the existing dam gates 9 and 10, upgraded the mechanical system, and made other repairs at the Montgomery Locks and Dam in western Pennsylvania.

The Montgomery Locks and Dam is located in Monaca, PA and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Fay's replacement of gates 9 and 10 is a continuation of other previous contracted work designed to replace the aging infrastructure of the dam (which was originally built between 1932-1936) to ensure continuous and reliable operation.

Workers performing spall repairs to existing concrete pier.

Fay performed all lifting work from a barge-mounted crane.

Updating a River Lock and Dam for Reliable and Safe Operation

Project Highlights

Replace two dam gates
Dismantle and rebuild three dam gate machinery houses
Remove hoisting machinery for two lift gates and install new pedestals to raise the machinery beams
Update obsolete motor control center for dam gate operating systems to a modern remote-controlled system
Remove and replace 20 motors and brakes

The Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) contracted with Fay to remove and replace dam gates 9 and 10, install a new gate control system, and perform other related repairs at the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Monaca, PA. This work was part of a multi-year project to upgrade all 10 dam gate systems to ensure their continued reliable performance. A later project will construct new lock chambers at several locks in the Ohio River system.

Challenge

The Montgomery Locks and Dam has been in operation since 1936 for commercial and recreational river navigation. Dam gates 9 and 10 were the last gates planned for end-of-service life replacement and the existing gate control system for all gates was obsolete. USACE needed to contract a heavy-civil contractor with experience dismantling large infrastructure in a marine environment.

Solution

Fay brought its expertise in marine construction projects—including locks and dams—for USACE, US Navy and other federal, state and local entities to this project. Working with the Corps of Engineers, Fay provided plans to schedule and execute the overall contracted work and safely deliver a quality project. The team also shared its experiences and solutions on all unforeseen modifications and repairs.

Construction

In addition to replacing the dam gates, the project also included replacement of the machinery housing in piers 9, 10, and 11, and concrete spall repairs on associated pier faces. One of the embedded tracks for the dam gate at pier 3 was damaged previously and needed to be removed and replaced as well.

Fay’s crew performed all lifting activities from a barge-mounted Manitowoc 4100 crane. After removing the original dam gates, the team installed new steel machinery pedestals, which raised the machinery beams for operating the new gates.

The contract also included installation of new gate-control centers and an overall camera system that assists the lock personnel with better visibility of the overall dam and with raising and lowering of the dam gates. Finally, Fay installed a new motor control system at each dam gate and routed overall operations and controls to the main lock house to allow the lock personnel to operate each lift gate remotely. This is an improvement from the previous system in which the gates were operated manually from each machinery house.

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