The money will go toward overhauling the Montgomery Locks and Dam along the upper Ohio River. It has about a 50% chance of failure by 2028 unless repairs are made.
Though few relics of the legendary Pennsylvania Mainline canal system exist today, it set in motion an era of canal building that still shapes how we move goods around the country.
Margaret J. Krauss is WESA's reporter for Keystone Crossroads, the statewide reporting initiative that covers problems facing Pennsylvania's cities and possible solutions. Before joining Keystone Crossroads, Margaret produced a 48-part radio series about Pittsburgh's lesser-known history—biking 2,000 miles around the region to do so.
