The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced the completion of the second of three phases in the construction of a new Soo Lock.
The Army Corps are working to replace the decommissioned Sabin lock, with the goal of having another lock capable of handling larger vessels that carry important materials.
“A lot of those resources go through on our 1000 foot vessels, which can only fit through the Poe lock right now. So, if the Poe lock were to be shut down, the supply chain would be in jeopardy,” said Army Corps Project Engineer Kristina Schnettler. “We're building the second lock to have a redundant lock in case it's needed.”
Phase two of that build involved the construction of the walls that will guide vessels into the new lock. “The walls that are leading into the new lock itself, they were over 100 years old,” Schnettler said. “We rehabilitated those so that they can guide vessels into the new lock and vessels can also moor to them while they're waiting to lock through.”
The project cost $117 million and was contracted to Ohio based Kokosing Alberici.
Construction will now move to the third and final phase. That includes the demolition of the old Sabin lock and the building of a new lock. Schnettler said that the project is on schedule to be completed by 2030.
“As for funding to date, we have received all of the funding that we have asked for. We will continue to have funding requests into the future years to be able to complete the project,” she said.
