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  • Soo Locks closing for seasonal repair, maintenance

    The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan will close to marine traffic beginning 11:59 p.m. January 15, or until commercial traffic ceases, through 12:01 a.m. March 25 to perform critical maintenance. Federal regulation establishes the operating season based on the feasibility of vessels operating during typical Great Lakes ice conditions. Every year, the Corps of Engineers uses the winter period to perform maintenance to keep the Soo Locks operating. The Detroit District team works long hours in extreme conditions to complete a significant amount of maintenance during this annual closure period. The work they perform is unique, especially given the harsh northern Michigan conditions they work in.

  • New Lock at the Soo reauthorized in WRDA 2022 at $3.219 billion

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District New Lock at the Soo Project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is reauthorized in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2022 on Dec 23, 2022. The project reauthorization amount is $3.219 billion. An authorization sets how much money agencies and programs can receive, and how they should spend the money. This authorization makes it possible for the project to maintain efficient funding eligibility. Due to recent cost increases, the project cost was estimated to exceed the previously authorized spending limit. “With continued funding, the remaining construction work, valued at $794.5 million could be awarded over the next three years allowing the project to stay on schedule and be completed in 2030.” Deputy District Engineer Kevin McDaniels said.

  • MacArthur Lock closing for seasonal repair, maintenance

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., - The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will close to marine traffic 7:00 a.m. Dec. 17, 2022, through 12:01 a.m. April 24, 2023, to perform critical maintenance. The Poe Lock will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Jan. 15, 2023, or until commercial traffic ceases, whichever occurs first. The operating season is fixed by federal regulation and is driven in part by vessel operability in typical ice conditions.  “The 800-foot-long MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is 79 years old; the maintenance period is critical to keeping the lock in operation during the shipping season,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas (Nick) Pettit said. Pettit, new Maintenance Branch Chief at the Soo Locks will oversee the team executing this year’s seasonal repairs.  

  • New Lock at the Soo Phase 3 contractor mobilizes

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., —The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers kicks off Phase 3 construction for the New Lock at the Soo as the contractor mobilizes to the Soo Locks. Kokosing Alberici Traylor, LLC (KAT), a joint venture headquartered in Westerville, Ohio began moving major equipment to the site via a barge in the Poe Lock on November 3 in between shipping traffic. Mobilization of equipment for Phase 3 marks a big milestone for the project. The Soo Locks will remain operational during construction of the New Lock at the Soo and without interruptions to shipping traffic. “KAT started their major mobilization this week with moving project trailers to the site,” Rachel Miller, New Lock at the Soo Supervisory Civil Engineer said. “They previously moved smaller pieces of equipment and have worked over the summer preparing the grounds for upcoming work.”

  • New Lock at the Soo: Unlocking the Great Lakes

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District works on unlocking the Great Lakes by providing a much-needed resiliency at the Soo Locks with the construction of the New Lock at the Soo. The New Lock at the Soo will be the same dimensions as the Poe Lock, 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Often called the “linchpin” of the Great Lakes navigation system, the Soo Locks are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan between the upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The Soo Locks enable bulk carrier vessels to safely bypass the swift-moving St. Marys River rapids where the water drops 21 feet over bedrock in a three-quarter mile stretch. The St. Marys River is the only connecting waterway between Lakes Superior and the lower Great Lakes. Before the first lock was constructed in 1798, trade canoes had to be unloaded and portaged around the rapids, taking roughly six weeks to complete. Today, the locks operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 42 weeks of the year allowing government, commercial and private vessels to transit safely and more efficiently.

  • New Lock at the Soo Phase 1 construction nears completion

    SAULT STE MARIE, Mich.—With only closeout items remaining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo substantially completes its first phase of construction. “We are waiting on final survey results and anticipate they will show the deepened areas as complete, really only have some punch-list type items, groundskeeping and site cleanup remaining,” said project Supervisory Civil Engineer Rachel Miller. Trade West Construction, Inc., of Nevada, a small business, began deepening the upstream channel May 4, 2020. “The New Lock was first authorized in 1986. That’s 36 years ago,” said New Lock at the Soo Chief Mick Awbrey. “It went through a series of changes and reauthorizations, then the Corps of Engineers was able to begin construction in 2020. Reaching substantial completion of this first phase of construction is a monumental milestone!”

  • Corps of Engineers promotes LeighAnn Ryckeghem to Operations Manager, Soo Project Office

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District hires LeighAnn Ryckeghem to the newly named Operations Manager position at the Soo Locks, effective July 1. The Operations Manager, formerly known as the Area Engineer, is responsible for overseeing all Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance activities as well as stakeholder outreach from the Menominee River Watershed in Wisconsin, East across northern Lake Michigan and Huron to the St. Marys River, then West along Lake Superior to Munising, Michigan. The area of responsibility includes maintenance of 13 harbors and offshore channels, maintenance of approximately 70 miles of Federal Navigation Channel in the St. Marys River, and Operation and Maintenance of the Soo Project Office which includes Hydropower, a Class I Visitor Center and the Soo Locks. “This position is vital to providing reliable public service to the maritime industry, hydroelectric power customers, water resource interests, recreational users and the public,” said Operations Division Chief Marie Strum. “The primary responsibilities include leading all aspects of our mission such as safety, labor relations, public outreach, human resources, budgeting, planning, engineering, scheduling, security, operations, maintenance and managing a workforce of 140 employees.”

  • Corps of Engineers awards $1.068 billion of the New Lock at the Soo Phase 3 contract

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District anticipates Phase 3 construction will start this summer with the $1.068 billion of the New Lock at the Soo Phase 3 contract award July 1, 2022. Kokosing Alberici Traylor, LLC (KAT), a joint venture headquartered in Westerville, Ohio will begin constructing the largest phase, the new lock chamber and rehabilitation of the downstream approach walls. This contract allows the contractor to begin work. With continued funding, the remaining work, valued at $803.95 million may be awarded over the next three years. Corps of Engineers officials expect Phase 3 construction to take seven years. "The Corps of Engineers looks forward to beginning construction on the new lock chamber later this summer, and we continue to work hard to maintain the pace and continue to make progress toward New Lock at the Soo total project completion in summer 2030,” said New Lock at the Soo Project Manager Mollie Mahoney.

  • MacArthur Lock opening after seasonal maintenance, extended repair

    The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will open to marine traffic June 19, 2022, after completing a critical repair that took longer than expected. The MacArthur lock was set to reopen in late April but replacing the almost 79-year-old tainter valve machinery, original to the lock built in 1943, caused the closure’s 59-day extension. “The tainter valve machinery replacement contract was a very large task,” Soo Locks Construction Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “The original machinery had to be cut into pieces and removed by crane out through a small access tunnel. The new machinery had to be fabricated in sections, lowered by crane in through the small tunnel and installed inside of the lock.”

  • Soo Locks Visitor Center opens for 2022 season

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is opening the Soo Locks Visitor Center in Canal Park at 10 a.m. May 8. Visitor Center hours for the month of May are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visitor Center hours and days for June will be re-evaluated and announced prior to Memorial Day. “We are excited to open the Visitor Center after a long winter,” Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs said. “This year, in addition to updated exhibits, we have a new water safety program with goody bags we hope all will enjoy.”