Michigan Senate pushes for full funding of new Soo lock

NEWS RELEASE

U.S. SENATOR JASON ALLEN

************************* Allen resolution urges Congress to fully fund expansion of shipping locks at Sault Ste. Marie LANSING - The Michigan Senate Tuesday approved a resolution urging the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fully fund the expansion of the shipping locks at Sault Ste. Marie, said Sen. Jason Allen, who sponsored the measure.

“The locks are of the utmost importance to Michigan’s economy and play a critical role in our national defense,” said Allen, R-Traverse City. “More than 80 millions tons of iron ore, clean burning low-sulfur coal, wheat and other cargo pass through the Soo locks every year.”

Allen, who chairs the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee, said expansion of the Soo locks is needed to avoid a crippling disruption of shipping.

“Currently, only one lock is large enough to accommodate the massive U.S. freighters that carry the majority of cargo on the Great Lakes,” Allen said. “If the Poe Lock, now 40 years old, suddenly became unusable, 70 percent of the cargo would be unable to pass through the locks and Great Lakes shipping would come to a standstill.”

Congress first authorized an expansion of the Soo locks in 1986 and further authorized full federal support of the project in 2007.

Despite these authorizations and nearly $15 million in federal spending on planning, design and preparation, Congress has yet to provide full funding for the lock.

“Time is of the essence,” Allen said. “A new Poe-sized lock is shovel-ready and would generate thousands of needed jobs and nearly $500 million in economic activity. Expanding the Soo locks would create an immediate stimulus to our struggling economy and ensure the free flow of vital raw materials for generations to come.”

Copies of Senate Resolution 21 will be transmitted to federal lawmakers in Washington and the U.S. secretary of the army.

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