Unified command dewaters a partially submerged barge at Emsworth Lock and Dam near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, January 21, 2018. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Johanna Strickland.
PITTSBURGH –A unified command consisting of the Coast Guard, United States Army Corps of Engineers and industry partners is continuing the removal of barges involved in the breakaways on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Moundsville, West Virginia, Monday.
Commercial navigation has been restored through Emsworth Lock and Dam with some restrictions put in place by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize recovery efforts.
The Coast Guard has rescinded the safety zone, a full waterway closure, from mile marker 2 to mile marker 20 above the Emsworth Lock and Dam.
Salvage of sunken barges involved in the breakaways on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Moundsville, West Virginia is continuing at both locations. Three barges have been successfully cleared from above the dam at Emsworth.
A safety zone is still in effect from mile marker 95 to mile marker 105 on the Ohio River due to risk of channel obstructions. Transit through this safety zone is continuing on a case by case basis.
The public and industry personnel are urged to ensure barges and vessels are strongly secured due to heavy ice flow on the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers.
