Officials waiting for river levels to come down before removing barges from Ohio River
Seven barges are still at the Emsworth Locks and Dam. There’s one other barge that hasn’t been located, but the company that owns the barges believes it’s somewhere between Emsworth and Dashfields, which are separated by about six miles.
“We haven’t started any recovery yet,” said Alan Nogy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District locks and dams operations project manager. “We’re still in the planning phase.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 26 barges break loose on Ohio River, cause damage to a marina
It’s still not clear when eight barges will be moved from the Emsworth and Dashields Dams. There’s also a barge that’s stuck along a tree line, which you can see from Route 65.
“The river needs to cooperate,” Nogy said. “We need the levels to continue to come down.”
That’s what Campbell Transportation, the company that owns and operates the barges, is also waiting for. They believe they’ve located all of the barges except for one.
They think it sunk between the Emsworth and Dashields Locks and Dams. Until it’s recovered, a safety zone will stay in place.
“No one, not associated with this mission, can be in that pool until the Coast Guard clears it,” Nogy said.
On Saturday, many curious onlookers showed up hoping to catch a glimpse of any of the 26 barges that broke free on the Ohio River. One man who lives right along the river captured video of the moment one of the barges hit into the Sewickley Bridge. That prompted the bridge to close for several hours until an engineer determined it was safe for vehicles to cross.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Unmanned barge hits Sewickley Bridge, prompts hours-long closure
“We were getting ready to go somewhere, and we couldn’t go across the Sewickley Bridge,” said Helene Zacharis.
The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers are involved. But, in the end, it’s Campbell Transportation Company’s responsibility to remove all of its barges.
It’s still not clear when these barges will be removed from the water. Again, they’re working on that plan right now. The Army Corps of Engineers says it shouldn’t take as long as it did to remove the 27 barges that broke free in 2018.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Over 60 barges break loose on Ohio River
“The river conditions were slightly even more unfavorable,” Nogy said. “So that took a longer time compared to the timeframe we’re on right now. But again, we haven’t started any recovery yet. We’re still in the planning phase.”
Nogy says they have protocols for situations like this.
“Sometimes you have time to implement them fully,” Nogy said. “Sometimes you don’t. This is one of those situations where it kind of evolved very quickly. When it’s dark, middle of the night, and you can’t see, you don’t always have that chance to prepare. So by the time we got ready to do anything we would have done the barges were already at this facility.”
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
TRENDING NOW:
Multiple people injured after vehicle crashes into trees in Westmoreland County Suspects who caused damage to Jefferson Hills homes sought by police Key Bridge collapse: FBI opens criminal investigation VIDEO: Tax Day 2024: Options exist for those still planning to file DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
