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The ice is thick, but it's been thicker

As Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards break up the ice on the Great Lakes, the Sault Locks are still scheduled to open March 25. The U.S. Coast Guard announced they were commencing ice breaking operations along the St. Marys River March 13.

As Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards break up the ice on the Great Lakes, the Sault Locks are still scheduled to open March 25.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced they were commencing ice breaking operations along the St. Marys River March 13.

"We have two or three freighters looking to come through that first day (March 25), and that will depend on if they are able to make it without complications either in the Straits of Mackinac or in the Detroit area as they come from Cleveland,"  said Ken Curry, U.S. Coast Guard vessel traffic management specialist, speaking to SooToday.

"The Coast Guard cutter Mobile Bay is working in the Sault Locks approaches today (Thursday) helping get the ice out of the approach, so they (Locks personnel) can do some last minute maintenance so they can open for the shipping season," Curry said.

"We currently have three vessels working in the St. Marys River right now," Curry said.

Those vessels are the U.S. Coast Guard cutters Katmai Bay, Mobile Bay, and the Mackinaw.

A fourth vessel, the Biscayne Bay, originally assigned to the St. Marys River, has been sent back to take care of ice breaking in the Straits of Mackinac.   

"The overall conditions (in terms of the amount of ice to be cut, and its thickness) are currently less than they were at this time last year…the ice is very thick (in some areas) but overall at this point in time it's less than last year," Curry said.

The U.S. Coast Guard stated March 11, in regards to public safety, ATV operators, snowmobilers and other recreational users of the ice should avoid any proximity to the shipping channels, plan their activity carefully, use caution near the ice, and that all ice fishermen should remove their ice shacks from areas close to the shipping channels.

Meanwhile, a Detroit Free Press story which ran Thursday reported nearly all of Michigan's members of Congress signed a letter Tuesday asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to put a high priority on a new lock for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Michigan senators and congressmen said if the existing Poe Lock were to undergo an unexpected shutdown, the economic impact on Great Lakes shipping would be approximately $160 million over 30 days.

The 48-year-old, 1,200 foot long Poe Lock is the only lock big enough to put through 70 percent of freighters passing from Lake Huron to Lake Superior.

There has been only some preliminary work done on a new lock, approval of which came in 2007.

Since then, funding for that mammoth $580 million project has tightened up, and the Corps has kept the Poe Lock running through annual U.S. government funding.

 

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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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