FOCUS Great Lakes
They’re Great!
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Great Lakes becoming an economic juggernaut?
Last lockage of the 2021 season — the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tug Owen M. Frederick followed by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay and the 635' Sam Laud.
By Dale DuPont, Correspondent
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he need for an additional lock the size of the Poe Lock, at Sault St. Marie, Mich., was first cited by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report in 1986 and authorized in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). One of the two parallel locks enabling ships to travel between Lake Superior and the Lower Great Lakes, the “lynch pin of the Great Lakes Navigation System” has no backup. An aging and deteriorating infrastructure means unscheduled outages are increasing. A 2015 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report put a hefty price tag on downtime. “It is hard to conceive of a single asset more consequential” to the North American economy than the Poe, DHS said. A six-month closure could reduce gross domestic product by $1.1 trillion and mean the loss of 11 million jobs. The parallel MacArthur Lock is
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smaller than the Poe in all dimensions. Those messages and others’ pleas finally got through. Tucked into the recent bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was a chunk of federal money to finish a new Poe-sized lock, the third of three phases of a $1.4 billion project to modernize the Soo Locks.
PHASED IN Phase I, upstream dredging of a channel for the new lock, was begun in the spring of 2020 and due to be finished this summer. Phase II consists of the upstream approach walls started last spring and expected to be done in 2023. The design of Phase III, which includes a hands-free mooring (HFM) system, is complete, and contracts are expected to be awarded before June 21. The goal is to open the new lock no later than 2030, a Corps spokesman said. Work depends on the weather and possible need for more money, espe-
cially considering inflation. Nevertheless, the funding was a milestone worth celebrating. “It’s fantastic news for the entire seaway, the Great Lakes and everyone who uses it,” said Joe Starck, president, Great Lakes Towing Co., Cleveland, which has two tugs at the locks. The biggest issue is maintenance and repair. “If we lose that lock, it would doom the system. You don’t want to be building a new lock under duress. It’s a miracle that it’s actually happening.” For Mark Barker, president of Interlake Steamship Co., Middleburg Heights, Ohio, the largest privately held U.S.-flag fleet on the Great Lakes, “It gives us the security that we’re going to get a redundant lock. We’re excited we have the funding commitment.” Interlake has nine vessels that carry bulk cargoes and in June expects to christen what is believed to be the first ship for U.S. Great Lakes service built on the lakes since 1983. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., launched that ship — the 639'x78'x45', 28,000-dwt bulk carrier Mark W. Barker in October. Users praise the engineers for keeping the locks working. The funding is “not just critical for the carriers, it’s more critical for our customers,” said James Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, which represents the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet. “Politically, it’s huge to have a significant amount of funding,” so contracts don’t have to be rebid every year, which could save millions. “It’s more likely to keep the project on track. “The Corps’s done a really good job of designing it. I’m optimistic the Corps will bring it in on time and on budget,” Weakley said. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat
