30 November 2023
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will close for the season on Dec. 17 and remain closed until April 24 for safety inspections and maintenance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported Thursday.
The Poe Lock at the Soo will remain open until Jan. 15, 2024, or until commercial traffic ceases whichever occurs first marking the end of the interlake shipping season.
All shipping traffic to and from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes and on to the St. Lawrence Seaway must pass through the Soo Locks.
“The 800-foot-long MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is 80 years old; the maintenance period is critical to keeping the lock in operation during the shipping season,” said Nicholas Pettit, maintenance branch chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, in a statement.
More than 4,500 vessels, carrying up to 80 million tons of cargo, pass through the Soo Locks annually. Iron ore, coal, wheat and limestone are the most frequently carried commodities.
Construction of a new Soo Lock began in 2019, and it is expected to take up to 10 years to complete. The project as of 2023 is estimated to cost $3.22 billion. The new lock will be built adjacent to the Poe Lock and will be the same size, allowing for more efficient traffic flow and reducing delays.
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