SAULT STE. MARIE, MI — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, has substantially completed the Phase 2 (Upstream Approach Walls) contract.
“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.”
USACE awarded the $117 million contract in September 2020 to Kokosing-Alberici of Westerville, Ohio.
A total of 52 coffer cells were constructed, filled, and capped with concrete to make up the eastern portion of the approach walls. A combined 4,800 linear feet of walls were rehabilitated and 62,000 cubic yards of concrete were used.
The New Lock at the Soo project continues to be on track for completion in 2030. The project is being built in three phases. Phase 1 (Upstream Channel Deepening) was completed in 2022 and Phase 2 (Upstream Approach Walls) is now substantially complete.
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“Phase 3 construction began in late 2022 and, given efficient funding and favorable weather, is on track to be complete by 2030,” New Lock at the Soo Senior Project Manager Mollie Mahoney said. “The New Lock at the Soo will be constructed in the footprint of the Sabin Lock and will be the same size as the Poe Lock [1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 32 feet deep].”
The Phase 3 contractor is demolishing the existing Sabin Lock chamber and beginning bedrock excavation in the footprint of the Sabin Lock. In the Davis Lock, they are excavating for the New Pump Well and filling the Davis Lock with excavated material. The contractor is also constructing a new bridge to the New Power Plant and a new utility access structure.
Additional planned activities to occur in 2024 include pump well substructure construction and new concrete monolith (lock chamber wall) construction.
The Soo Locks allow vessels to transit the 21-foot elevation change at the St. Marys Falls Canal. Over 88 percent of commodity tonnage through the Soo Locks is restricted by vessel size to the Poe Lock. The New Lock at the Soo project will construct a second Poe-sized lock.
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The Soo Locks are essential to U.S. manufacturing and national security. The New Lock at the Soo project will provide resiliency for this critical node in the Great Lakes Navigation System. A 2015 Department of Homeland Security study estimates a six-month Poe Lock closure would temporarily reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by $1.1 trillion, resulting in the loss of 11 million jobs.
