Posted on October 2, 2017
By Hailey Desormeaux, American Shipper
Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc., of Cheboygan, Mich., (d.b.a.) Ryba Marine Construction, was awarded a contract for more than $2.8 million by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District to replace MacArthur Lock embedded anchorages at the Soo Locks Complex in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
“This contract involves removing existing gate anchorages, then fabricating and installing new embedded gate anchorages behind the existing embedded gate anchorages and the connection to the lock gate leaf,” the USACE said Thursday. “The work includes constructing new primary and secondary embedded anchorages for operating Gate 5 of the MacArthur Lock.”
“This is an important investment that will help buy down risk on the aging MacArthur Lock,” said Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue, district engineer. “The MacArthur Lock accommodates smaller vessels on the Great Lakes and takes pressure off the Poe Lock through which the vast majority of our commodities move.”
A separate contract was awarded to Ryba Marine by the USACE earlier this year for almost $2.4 million to replace Poe Lock quoin and miter blocks.
Both projects will be performed during the annual winter maintenance shutdown of the Soo Locks from January to mid-March 2018, and both are scheduled for completion by June 2018.
The Soo Locks Complex currently consists of four locks, however the Poe Lock, which is the only lock capable of handling 1,000-foot vessels, and the MacArthur Lock, are the only two that are actively used.
The Sabin Lock has had no vessel passage since 1989 and was permanently decommissioned in 2010, while the Davis Lock is only used by Soo Area Office vessels when necessary, according to the USACE.
Source: American Shipper
