U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced Friday his plan to introduce legislation that would authorize millions of dollars in investment in the underbudgeted Monongahela River navigation improvement project, including work in Charleroi.
Casey, D-Pa., is seeking as much as $37 million more a year in the proposed Reinvesting in Vital Economic Rivers and Waterways Act of 2013 to ensure the locks and dams projects stay on schedule for completion
“Our region’s locks and dams play a vital role in the moving of commerce, creating and sustaining jobs, and supporting economic growth throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Casey stated in a news release. “It’s critical that we maintain and upgrade these waterways.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is years behind schedule due to federal funding cuts on replacing locks in Charleroi in order to remove an aging dam in Elizabeth and shorten the amount of time tow boats spend locking through river channels.
Casey’s bill, which will be introduced following the current recess, would protect 200,000 jobs and create a more efficient navigational system, his office said.