When waterways like the Allegheny River freeze, there is no getting through — at least until the ice starts to melt.
“Currently, we have a safety zone in place for the Allegheny River,” said Lionel Babin, who works for the U.S. Coast Guard in Pittsburgh. “The impact to it is relatively low as it is because the river is frozen. Most of the industry had already paused operations. That’s why we at the Coast Guard, in conjunction with the Waterways Association of Pittsburgh, we came to the same conclusion that the river is currently not navigable and it’s a safety issue for mariners in place.”
According to the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, the Pittsburgh Port District encompasses 13 counties and over 200 miles of navigable waterways. Also, Pittsburgh is the fifth-busiest inland port in the nation, handling over 15.5 million tons of cargo, according to data from 2020 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers…