The Office of Management and Budget approved a request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a $1.35 million cost benefit analysis for a new lock at the aging Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
The Soo Locks consist of four parallel locks that connect Lake Superior with the lower Great Lakes. Only two of the locks are actively used. Of the two that are currently used, only Poe Lock is capable of handling 1,000-foot vessels. Nearly 80 million tons of agricultural, mining and manufactured goods pass through the locks each year.
The analysis will look at replacing the two inactive locks with one the size of Poe Lock.
