U.S. gives $1.35-million toward study to build long-delayed Super-Lock

A newly-announced $1.35-million study into the viability of building a new addition to the Soo Locks will take two years to complete, but a spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers says it is a step that needs to be completed before funding can be considered.

The funding for the cost-benefit study is being applauded by Michigan's U.S. senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, who made the request to the Office of Management and Budget in June of this year. 

Scott Thieme, deputy district engineer for project management for Army Corps of Engineers (Detroit), said the so-called ‘Super-Lock’ project had originally been authorized in 1986 to compliment the existing Poe and MacArtuhur locks.

At 1200-feet long, only the Poe lock can accommodate the largest 1000-foot lake freighters and, as result, about 70-percent of all shipping traffic in the system flows through that lock.

The smaller MacArthur lock is only 800-feet long and suited for smaller vessels and pleasure craft.

Thieme said the need for a new large lock stems from the possibility of the Poe Lock getting damaged or otherwise going out of commission.

“It’s not as much a capacity issue — [it’s not] that we have a lot of vessels tied up waiting to get through — it’s more a redundancy issue,” said Thieme.

Last summer, during the shipping season, the MacArthur Lock was out of commission for 20 days due to unscheduled repairs.

At that time all shipping traffic was routed through the larger Poe Lock.

Although ground was broken in 2009 for the proposed new lock, Thieme said it has not yet received close to the estimated $540-million in needed funding. 

Once funding is announced and construction begins, it will about 10 years to complete, assuming funding is constant year-over-year throughout the project.

Thieme said aside from the large scale of the project — the typically long, cold winters in Sault Ste. Marie contribute to the length of time needed for construction.

“The weather doesn’t help up there. It limits you a little bit,” he said.

Thieme said a cost-benefit study done in 2005 deemed the project ineligible to be considered in president’s budget, so this new study is vital to the project receiving funding in the future.

In a letter sent from US Congress to the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year, it was estimated if the the larger Poe Lock were to experience an unscheduled outage the economic impact could reach $160-million within just 30 days.

(FILE PHOTO: Onlookers watch as a tour boat locks through the Soo Locks as part of Engineer's Day in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan on June 25, 2015. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)