River infrastructure is often a target for budget cuts in presidential budgets, only to receive funding from Congress. A huge project to replace dams and locks on the Monongahela River hangs in the balance.
"President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget would bring to a screeching halt work on a Monongahela River project that political and business leaders say is vital to the region’s economy," reports Len Boselovic.
The project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would "replace three sets of aging locks and dams at Braddock, Elizabeth and Charleroi." Congress authorized the project 25 years ago at $750 million. But "[i]nconsistent, delayed funding has increased the project’s cost to between $1.2 billion and $2.7 billion," according to Boselovic.
According to river experts cited in the article, every year there's a dance between presidential budget proposals and the final versions approved by Congress. "For years, under different administrations, the White House consistently has proposed low funding for river infrastructure only to see Congress appropriate significantly more," explains Boselovic.
The article includes more details on the condition of the dams targeted for replacement—Army Corps believes the 110-year-old dam at Elizabeth, for example, is in danger of failing.
Read the full story: Trump wants to pull plug on Monongahela River work
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