Allegheny River Lock & Dam No. 4 Permanent Culvert Improvements Project

Harrison Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Project Summary:

The Allegheny River Lock & Dam No. 4 (AR4) Permanent Culvert Replacement project provided the USACE a permanent culvert conveyance design that redirects offsite stormwater discharge through the AR4 property and out the existing penstock system in the lock guide wall.  The project scope included a hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) analysis of the stormwater network to ensure the design of the permanent culvert system could safely pass the 100-year storm event peak discharge and velocity.  The project also eliminated the existing culvert discharge pipe network on the AR4 property, eliminated small conveyance lines, and made necessary site restorations. 

Project Role

Riverview Engineering provided Water Resources Engineering services for the Allegheny River Lock & Dam No. 4 Permanent Culvert Replacement as an independent contractor to CEMS Engineering.

Services Provided:

Riverview Engineering provided Water Resources Engineering services including:

  • Hydrology and Hydraulic Modeling

  • Stormwater Infrastructure Mapping

  • Permanent Culvert Design Alternatives and Analysis

  • Decommissioning and Restoration Design

US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District

Design Phase: 2021

Construction Estimated to be Completed: 2023

Overall Estimated Project Cost: $3M

Teaming and Collaboration:

Prime: CEMS Engineering, Inc

Regulatory and Permitting:

The Allegheny River Lock & Dam No. 4 Permanent Culvert Replacement project was reviewed and approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District.

Project Highlights:

Acquisition of initial data by obtaining readily available topography, aerial imagery, soils, land use, land cover, infrastructure, and other required information from USACE and other public sources.

Delineated the watershed utilizing readily available information.

Developed a Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) watershed response simulation model utilizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). Provided Stormwater System Analysis using the available information above and developed model to analyze performance of the stormwater system.

Produced maps of stormwater system utilizing readily available and generated information using SWMM modeling.