Posted on June 3, 2021
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The construction of a huge, new lock at Michigan’s Soo Locks was awarded $480 million in federal funding in President Joe Biden’s 2022 federal budget proposal.
While the budget has a long way to go – and is likely to undergo many changes – before it’s approved by Congress, Biden’s proposed budget includes a large allocation for the new lock that will cost an estimated $922 million. The proposal includes about $595 million for projects within the Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District.
Construction the 1,200-foot long, 110-foot wide and 32-foot deep lock is already underway. Phase one began in May 2020. After a winter break, construction resumed in April. Phase two is set to begin this year.
The new lock will be a twin of the Poe, which is the largest current lock. Poe is used by about 85% of vessels navigating the 21-foot elevation change between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The engineering system in the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie is the only way ships can travel between the upper and lower Great Lakes.
The first phase of construction involves deepening the upstream approach to the Sabin and Davis Locks, which will be replaced by the new lock; it is expected to be complete in November 2021. Phase two, rehabilitating and stabilizing the upstream approach walls to allow modern vessels to tie up and wait their turn to pass through the new lock, will begin this year. Construction on the lock itself is expected to begin in summer 2022.
The Soo Locks are a nationally critical infrastructure and the reliability of it in the Great Lakes Navigation System is essential to U.S. manufacturing and national security, according to a 2015 Department of Homeland Security study.
Biden’s 2022 budget includes $6.793 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program, which is the largest annual budget ever proposed for the Army Corps. That includes about $595 million for Detroit District projects, including high water studies and monitoring; beach nourishment; harbor dredging; flood risk management and more.
