WASHINGTON -- Industries that rely on river transportation to move millions of tons of goods and raw materials are pushing the federal government to fund major lock and dam rehabilitation projects in the Pittsburgh area this year.

Dams on both the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, just miles from Downtown Pittsburgh, are among the oldest in the nation and in need of costly upgrades.

"My prediction is that they'll get full and efficient funding for the Mon and the Emsworth dams," R. Barry Palmer, president and CEO of the Waterways Council, said yesterday after meeting with reporters. His group, based in Arlington, Va., advocates for maintenance of the system of ports and inland waterways across the country. It is supported by a range of industries, from coal to corn growers to steel.

On the Monongahela, the Army Corps of Engineers already is undertaking a $750 million project that includes a dam replacement at Braddock, lock repairs at Charleroi and, eventually, removal of a dam at Elizabeth, making traffic along the river more efficient. The project, started in 1992, originally had a completion date of 2004. Funding delays have pushed that date back to 2019.

The Emsworth Locks and Dam are undergoing more than $70 million in emergency repairs over the next several years.

Much of the money for the projects comes from a fuel tax paid by commercial users of the rivers. It is collected in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. In recent years, the fund had been collecting a sizeable surplus because the federal government had been slow to spend money on projects. Industry officials acknowledge that they hadn't been lobbying hard enough for the money.

"We were asleep," said John Doyle, the Waterways Council's vice president of government relations. "It's not a Democratic-versus-Republican situation."

In 2002, the fund's surplus reached $394 million. With some pushing from the council, the surplus is projected to fall to $179 million this year, with more money heading to projects nationwide.

Pittsburgh-area projects already have benefited. In the federal government's 2005 budget, the Monongahela rehabilitation received $31.6 million. This year, it's up to $62.8 million.

The government must maintain that funding pace to complete the Monongahela project in a reasonable time period, argues James McCarville, director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, which promotes river transportation in the area. "We have no guarantee it will be done in a 15-year period if they're not serious," he said.

At Charleroi, only one chamber is operational as the rehabilitation project goes forward. A malfunction could bring river traffic to a standstill and greatly hamper the delivery of coal to U.S. Steel's Clairton Works.

Several months ago, a loose barge damaged two of 13 gates at the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Industry, Beaver County. The Army Corps of Engineers was able to make quick repairs. But Mr. McCarville worries that multiple accidents in a short period of time, or colder weather sending ice down the rivers, could lead to a dire situation.

The Montgomery, Emsworth and Dashields dams of the Ohio all are more than 70 years old. While engineers combat erosion problems with temporary fixes, Army Corps officials are conducting a multi-year study to plan a rehabilitation project on par with the Monongahela undertaking. The Waterways Council is less confident about getting all the necessary money for that study.

"The problems are not going to go away. They're likely to get worse before they get better," said Curtis N. Meeder, chief of the planning and environmental branch of the Corps' Pittsburgh district. "This is an urgent, regional economic priority."