Riverboats in Pittsburgh - October 18, 1929 This was filmed October 18, 1929, as part of the celebration of the opening of a nine-foot Channel on the Ohio River. Before locks and dams were built, towboats could get delayed for months waiting for the water level to rise enough to allow travel on different sections of the river. They could get hung up on sandbars, chutes & snags were always a problem. The river could be as shallow as 1 to 2 feet anywhere along its length. Boat operators could gene