SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – Work to upgrade the Soo Locks and pave the way for creation of a new large lock will begin in the spring.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, announced Friday that the first phase of construction on the New Lock at the Soo has been awarded to Trade West Construction Inc. of Mesquite, Nevada.

Trade West Construction will receive almost $53 million to complete this first phase of construction, which involves deepening the upstream approach channel to a depth of 30 feet. The first phase will take approximately two years to accomplish.

"This is an exciting time for the Corps and the Great Lakes. We look forward to working with the contractors and meeting all the milestones in this first phase of the project, which is critical to the success of the entire project." said Lt. Col. Greg Turner, district engineer.

The much-anticipated mega-project will be constructed in three phases. Phases two and three of the project are still in design phase and involve rehabilitation of the upstream approach walls and construction on the new lock chamber, respectively.

Phase two, upstream approach walls construction, will be advertised for bid in February, officials said, The upgrades will stabilize the existing approach walls to allow for modern vessels to tie up and wait their turn to pass through the new lock.

The third phase, construction of the new lock chamber, will include rehabilitating downstream approach walls and is expected to be advertised for bid in spring of 2021.

“Contingent on efficient funding, the New Lock at the Soo project, estimated to cost nearly $1 billion, could be complete in as few as seven years from the start of construction,” said Mollie Mahoney, project manager.

The Soo Locks are situated on the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie and allow vessels to transit the 21-foot elevation change at the St. Marys Falls Canal. Because the system’s Poe Lock is the only lock that can handle the 1,000-foot freighters, over 85% of tonnage through the Soo Locks is restricted by vessel size to the Poe.

The new lock project will construct a second, Poe-sized lock on the site of the existing, decommissioned Davis and Sabin locks.

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