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  • Soo Locks Closing for Seasonal Repair, Maintenance

    The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan will close to all marine traffic beginning 11:59 p.m. January 15, or until commercial traffic ceases, through 12:01 a.m. March 25 to perform seasonal critical maintenance. Federal regulation (33 CFR 207.440) 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 non-navigation winter period to perform maintenance and keep the Soo Locks operating,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “The Soo Project Office 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 winter conditions they work in.”
  • MacArthur Lock closing for seasonal repair, maintenance

    The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will close for the Navigation Season to conduct seasonal repairs and maintenance on December 16, 2024. The Poe Lock will remain open until Jan. 15, 2025, or until commercial traffic ceases, whichever occurs first. The Soo Locks operating season is fixed by federal regulation (33 CFR 207.440). “The 800-foot-long MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is now 81 years old; this maintenance period is critical to keeping the lock in operation during the shipping season,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas Pettit said. The MacArthur Lock has seen 2,806 lockages and 5,170 passages (number of vessels) since opening April 24, 2024, to now, December 12, 2024.
  • New Lock at the Soo to host public meeting for 2024-2025 blasting activities

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District and New Lock at the Soo contractor Kokosing Alberici Traylor, LLC (KAT) will host an in-person and virtual public meeting at 6 p.m., November 21, 2024, to inform the public of test blasting activities needed for project construction. The Corps of Engineers contracted KAT to complete Phase 3 construction of the New Lock at the Soo project. This work includes the excavation of bedrock scheduled for this year and 2025. “The project team will perform test blasts to fracture the existing bedrock to be excavated and removed,” Rachel Miller, New Lock at the Soo Contracting Officer’s Representative said. “All blasting will be completed within the Corps of Engineers Soo Locks facility in the existing decommissioned Sabin Lock area.”
  • Soo Locks Visitor Center closes for 2024 season

    SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District closes the Soo Locks Visitor Center in Canal Park at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 for the 2024 season. Visitor Center hours for the remainder of Oct. are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The park is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily for the month of October and will transition to winter hours (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) on Nov. 1.
  • New Lock at the Soo Phase 2 complete

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, substantially completed Phase 2 (Upstream Approach Walls) contract on September 17. “Phase 2 work focused on rehabilitating the upstream approach walls to guide vessels into the New Lock and will allow the vessels to moor on the wall,” New Lock at the Soo Project Engineer Ryan Berkompas said. “The old approach walls in the northern channel were the same age as the Sabin and Davis Locks, over 100 years old.” The Corps of Engineers awarded the $117 million contract in September 2020 to Kokosing-Alberici, of Westerville, Ohio.
  • Chamber Lock Operational Option 3 awarded for New Lock at the Soo

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, awards $222.7 million contract Option 3 (Chamber Lock Operational) to Kokosing Alberici Traylor, LLC (KAT) of Westerville, Ohio. The Option 3 award will allow for construction to proceed as required to have a fully functional lock. “Option 3 includes construction of the lock floor, installation of the mechanical and electrical systems, completion of the filling and emptying system, placing soil in between the New Lock and old Davis Lock, and commissioning of the lock chamber,” said Inland Navigation Design Center, New Lock at the Soo Technical Lead Darin White.  With the on-time award of Option 3, the project continues to be on track for completion in 2030.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removes WWII era gates hidden in St. Marys River

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, removed a spare set of miter gates, constructed for the Davis and Sabin Locks, from the St. Marys River this summer. The miter gates were hidden in the river for over 80 years and weighed about 350,000 pounds each. The gates were strategically stored downriver of the Soo Locks facility and out of the federal navigation channel in the 1940s during World War II. The purpose of storing the gates downriver was to have a spare set of replacement gates for either lock if the installed gates were damaged. “The Davis and Sabin locks were built in 1914 and 1919 and at the time were the largest locks in the world,” said Chief Park Ranger Michelle Briggs.
  • Infrastructure Innovation: New Poe Lock arrestor arm is the largest U.S. civil works component produced by 3D printer

    As America’s civil works infrastructure ages, managers need innovative solutions to replace parts that have been in service for nearly a century. Often, these original components were fabricated using vintage material and manufacturing methods, making them costly, burdensome and time-consuming to replace. Responding to this need, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is employing cutting-edge 3D-printing techniques to manufacture these parts faster and at a lower cost while maintaining, and even improving, their properties.
  • Infrastructure Innovation: New Poe Lock arrestor arm is the largest U.S. civil works component produced by 3D printer

    As America’s civil works infrastructure ages, managers need innovative solutions to replace parts that have been in service for nearly a century. Often, these original components were fabricated using vintage material and manufacturing methods, making them costly, burdensome and time-consuming to replace. Responding to this need, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is employing cutting-edge 3D printing techniques to manufacture these parts faster and at a lower cost while maintaining, and even improving, their properties. In early March, the USACE Detroit District installed the largest U.S. civil works infrastructure component produced by a 3D printer – a 12-foot-long metal part for the ship arrestor system on the Poe Lock, one of the two active locks on the Soo Locks facility. Building on years of research performed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the part was manufactured in 12 weeks, compared to a projected 18-month lead time for conventional manufacturing. The part was installed, tested and commissioned during the Soo Locks’ winter maintenance cycle. The rapid repair ensured normal operations at Poe Lock, a major transit point for domestic iron ore.
  • Soo Locks Hydro Plant Tailrace Closing to Vessel Traffic

    Ongoing New Lock at the Soo construction activities are occurring in the St. Marys Falls Canal hydroelectric power plant tailrace. Beginning April 1, 2024, this area will close to all vessel traffic except at the specific direction of the Chief Lockmaster. Scheduled New Lock at the Soo construction activities are anticipated to allow exceptions to this closure beginning most Saturdays at 6 p.m. through the following Monday at 6 a.m., and infrequently on other days.