A controlled explosion late this morning at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' dam on the Monongahela River will close a portion of the river to boating and fishing from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

		View on the Internet Although Locks 2 will be closed to the public during the demolition, the event can be viewed on the Corps' Pittsburgh District Webcams at www.lrp.usace.army.mil.

The demolition of a 90-foot section of the 100-year-old fixed crest dam at Locks and Dam 2 at Braddock is scheduled for noon. All river traffic and activity will be restricted about one-quarter mile in each direction.

Successive demolitions will proceed during the next two months on other sections of the old dam with periodic delays. Most of those demolitions will be underwater.

The new Braddock Dam is fully operational.

Because only a 500-foot stretch of water lies between the old and new dams, the amount of surge released by the initial explosion will result in a foot-high surge immediately below the dam. By the time it reaches the Point in Pittsburgh, the surge will be negligible, a Corps spokesman said.

"It's not going to be any kind of Ten Commandments kind of water coming down the river," said the spokesman, Richard Dowling.

The demolition is part of the Corps' Lower Monongahela River project that also includes replacing Locks 4 in Charleroi with new larger locks and removing Locks and Dam 3 in Elizabeth.