Soo Locks close for Annual Maintenance

Jan 16, 2018 @ 14:30

 

The last ship of the year, the Edwin H. Gutt has passed through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, The annual closing from January 15 through March 25. The Corps will use this time to perform critical maintenance measures on the lock structures. If you drive over the bridge you can see that the International Rail Lift Bridge across the Poe/MacArthur Lock Canal which is normally in the raised position until a train needs to cross is now down and will stay in the down position until the Locks reopen.

“It is vitally important that we keep the infrastructure at the Soo Locks in good working order,” said Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue, district engineer. “The district puts a high priority on keeping the locks functioning safely and reliably for the benefit of our nation.”

While closed to navigation, crews will be busy with a variety of maintenance projects on both the Poe and MacArthur Locks in preparation for another busy season.

This year the planned maintenance includes: Poe Lock Miter and Quoin Block Replacement, Poe Lock Gate 2 Embedded Anchorage Replacement, Poe Lock Gate 3 Cylinder Seal Replacement, North Poe Lock Valve Maintenance, MacArthur Lock Embedded Anchorage Replacement, MacArthur Lock Filling Valve Seal Replacement, and MacArthur Lock Bevel Gear Replacement.

Last summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District announced that Ryba Marine of Cheboygan will replace crucial aging and deteriorating infrastructure at the Soo Locks, the St. Marys River navigational locks, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. This contract involves removing existing gate anchorages, then fabricating and installing new embedded gate anchorages behind the existing embedded gate anchorages and the connection to the lock gate leaf. The work includes constructing new primary and secondary embedded anchorages for operating Gate 5 of the MacArthur Lock. “This is an important investment that will help buy down risk on the aging MacArthur Lock,” said Lt. Col. Dennis Sugrue, district engineer. “The MacArthur Lock accommodates smaller vessels on the Great Lakes and takes pressure off the Poe Lock through which the vast majority of our commodities move.”

More than 4,500 vessels carrying up to 80 million tons of cargo travel the locks yearly. Opened in 1969, the Poe Lock is 1,200 feet long. The MacArthur Lock was opened in 1943 and is 800 feet long.