14 Jan 2025

Soo Locks Closing for Seasonal Repair, Maintenance

The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan will close to all marine traffic beginning 11:59 p.m. January 15, or until commercial traffic ceases, through 12:01 a.m. March 25 to perform seasonal critical maintenance. Federal regulation (33 CFR 207.440) establishes the operating season based on the feasibility of vessels operating during typical Great Lakes ice conditions. “Every year, the Corps of Engineers uses the non-navigation winter period to perform maintenance and keep the Soo Locks operating,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “The Soo Project Office team works long hours in extreme conditions to complete a significant amount of maintenance during this annual closure period. The work they perform is unique, especially given the harsh northern Michigan winter conditions they work in.”

12 Dec 2024

MacArthur Lock closing for seasonal repair, maintenance

The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will close for the Navigation Season to conduct seasonal repairs and maintenance on December 16, 2024. The Poe Lock will remain open until Jan. 15, 2025, or until commercial traffic ceases, whichever occurs first. The Soo Locks operating season is fixed by federal regulation (33 CFR 207.440). “The 800-foot-long MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is now 81 years old; this maintenance period is critical to keeping the lock in operation during the shipping season,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas Pettit said. The MacArthur Lock has seen 2,806 lockages and 5,170 passages (number of vessels) since opening April 24, 2024, to now, December 12, 2024.

26 Nov 2024

Corps of Engineers, Navy collaborate in experimental dredging for U.P. harbor

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District and Engineer Research and Development Center in partnership with the U.S. Navy removed over 25,000 cubic yards of material from Little Lake Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan this fall.   Little Lake Harbor, designated as a harbor of refuge, requires annual maintenance dredging. The harbor had severe shoaling and emergency dredging was completed in 2023.   This year, a unique opportunity with the Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the U.S. Navy arose.   “We were working with ERDC on redesigning the federal structures at Little Lake Harbor and ERDC was working with the Navy on experimental training,” said Soo Project Office, St. Marys River Section Chief Justin Proulx. “ERDC brought the two of us together to train the Navy on opening harbors and dredging the Detroit District’s shoaled in Little Lake Harbor.” 

13 Nov 2024

New Lock at the Soo to host public meeting for 2024-2025 blasting activities

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District and New Lock at the Soo contractor Kokosing Alberici Traylor, LLC (KAT) will host an in-person and virtual public meeting at 6 p.m., November 21, 2024, to inform the public of test blasting activities needed for project construction. The Corps of Engineers contracted KAT to complete Phase 3 construction of the New Lock at the Soo project. This work includes the excavation of bedrock scheduled for this year and 2025. “The project team will perform test blasts to fracture the existing bedrock to be excavated and removed,” Rachel Miller, New Lock at the Soo Contracting Officer’s Representative said. “All blasting will be completed within the Corps of Engineers Soo Locks facility in the existing decommissioned Sabin Lock area.”

28 Oct 2024

Soo Locks Visitor Center closes for 2024 season

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District closes the Soo Locks Visitor Center in Canal Park at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 for the 2024 season. Visitor Center hours for the remainder of Oct. are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The park is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily for the month of October and will transition to winter hours (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) on Nov. 1.

26 Sep 2024

New Lock at the Soo Phase 2 complete

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, substantially completed Phase 2 (Upstream Approach Walls) contract on September 17. “Phase 2 work focused on rehabilitating the upstream approach walls to guide vessels into the New Lock and will allow the vessels to moor on the wall,” New Lock at the Soo Project Engineer Ryan Berkompas said. “The old approach walls in the northern channel were the same age as the Sabin and Davis Locks, over 100 years old.” The Corps of Engineers awarded the $117 million contract in September 2020 to Kokosing-Alberici, of Westerville, Ohio.

26 Sep 2024

Corps of Engineers to install temporary radar system at Manistique Harbor

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District is installing an Integrated Radar Monitoring System (IRaMS) at Manistique Harbor, Michigan to collect fall wave data during the week of Oct. 7. The system will remain along the shoreline for several months to observe the interaction between waves and the harbor structures during storm events and validate numerical wave model simulations. Data collection and modeling will help with designing future repairs to the structures at Manistique. 

13 Sep 2024

Army Civil Works announces invitations to apply for dam safety loans; $763 million in potential federal financing for Michigan

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today announced the first set of proposals being invited to apply for loans under the new Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program (CWIFP). Two of the invited applicants are in Michigan.

30 Jul 2024

Corps of Engineers begins dredging St. Joseph Harbor

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Detroit District will begin dredging 29,500 cubic yards of shoaling near the entrance to St. Joseph Harbor this week and conclude in late August.

22 Jul 2024

Detroit District accepting entries for annual photo contest

DETROIT – The Detroit District invites the public to enter its 9th annual photo contest highlighting U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sites across the Great Lakes. The top 12 photographs highlighting Detroit District projects on the Great Lakes such as the Soo Locks, Duluth Ship Canal, piers, breakwaters or federal harbors and channels will earn a spot in the 2025 downloadable calendar. The entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. July 31, with winners determined by public voting on social media. The Soo Locks Visitors Center Association will award the top three photographers a plaque featuring their winning photo. “The Detroit District is proud to continue this annual tradition,” said District Commander Lt. Col. Wallace Bandeff. “The photo contest captures the beauty of the Great Lakes and allows us to see projects that we've designed, built and now, maintain from a whole new perspective.”