The US Army Corps of Engineers says in a report Monday that building a new Soo lock able to accommodate the largest ships on the Great Lakes will help the nation’s economy and security.
About three decades ago Congress ordered the construction of a new, large Soo lock.
It was never funded after the Army Corps of Engineers said it would not be worth the roughly one billion dollars the project would cost.
Now US officials say having only one Soo lock that can handle large ships poses a national security issue, because if the lock failed it could prevent shipments of materials many industries rely on.
Even President Trump, at a recent rally in Macomb County, said the situation demanded attention.
“Your lock! It’s not working too well right? Not working too well. It hasn’t been fixed in 50 years, in all fairness. After spending all that money in the Middle East, can you imagine? We can’t fix a lock. We’ll get it fixed.”
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has already committed to providing 50 million dollars for a new lock…and is calling on other states in the Great Lakes region to do the same.