Sault lock opens. Site upgrades underway

NEWS RELEASE

PARKS CANADA

************************* Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site prepares for summer season

SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, May 15, 2008 - The recreational lock at the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site of Canada opened its gates to boaters today for the 2008 season.

Boaters may not realize that the lock has a new computer-controlled operating system.

The City of Sault Ste. Marie and Parks Canada worked together to replace the system after the existing system was damaged during a thunderstorm last fall.

Parks Canada is also in the process of completing parking lot upgrades and landscaping to improve visitor experiences at the site this summer.

Included in the landscaping are plans to re-sod portions of the grounds around the administration building and flowerbed plantings.

The work is already underway and is expected to be complete within the next couple of months.

The Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site of Canada is one of 157 national historic sites operated by Parks Canada to protect and present significant examples of our nation’s heritage.

Completed in 1895, the Sault Ste. Marie Canal was the largest lock in the world when it opened and the first to be electrically operated.

The construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal marked the completion of an all-Canadian waterway from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Superior.

In 1998, following lock reconstruction, the canal was re-opened to recreational boat traffic.

Today, the lock is operated and maintained jointly by the City of Sault Ste. Marie and Parks Canada.

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