The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will open to marine traffic June 19, 2022, after completing a critical repair that took longer than expected.
The MacArthur lock was set to reopen in late April but replacing the almost 79-year-old tainter valve machinery, original to the lock built in 1943, caused the closure’s 59-day extension.
“The tainter valve machinery replacement contract was a very large task,” Soo Locks Construction Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “The original machinery had to be cut into pieces and removed by crane out through a small access tunnel. The new machinery had to be fabricated in sections, lowered by crane in through the small tunnel and installed inside of the lock.”