Growing up in Michigan, many of us cherish memories of experiencing the Soo Locks, whether as children or adults. Every year a million tourists flock to Sault Ste Marie — ours and Ontario’s — to watch as one of 7,000 freighters make the 21-foot drop (or climb) between Lakes Superior and Huron.
Beyond marveling from an observation deck as a tourist, we all benefit from the many unseen perks the locks provide. It’s easy to take for granted the economic activity generated by the Locks, and what it means not only here in Michigan but for the entire country.
In fact, 90% of the nation’s iron ore moves through the Soo Locks to feed Midwestern steel plants and other buyers beyond the Great Lakes. Wheat and oilseeds also move through the locks on their way to overseas markets.
That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refer to the locks as the “Linchpin of the Great Lakes.”
Today’s massive 1,000-foot freighters only fit in the 1,200-foot Poe Lock, which handles 89% of the Locks’ total annual tonnage.
The 800-foot MacArthur Lock is still operational. The smaller Davis and Sabin Locks are no longer used commercially. There’s also a lock on the Canadian side for recreational boats.
After years of prodding by industry and members of Congress, lawmakers in 2018 finally approved funding to begin construction on a new lock. Construction was originally authorized by Congress back in 1986 and over 30 years later, we finally have boots on the ground.
The project is estimated to cost $922.4 million and is scheduled for completion in 2027.
According to the Lake Carriers Association:
“There is currently no redundancy for the Poe Lock. If the Poe Lock goes down, 60 million tons of commerce would have to go by alternate modes of transportation. In that event, the existing infrastructure is insufficient to support the vast quantities of tonnage that would have to bypass the lock.”
The Department of Homeland Security took it a step further in a 2016 report:
“Depending on what time of year, approximately 75% of the U.S. integrated steel production would cease within 2-6 weeks after the closure of the Poe Lock. Approximately 80% of iron ore mining and nearly 100 percent of North American appliance, automobile, construction equipment, farm equipment, mining equipment and railcar production would shut down…
“Almost 11 million people in the U.S. and millions in Canada and Mexico would become unemployed due to the production stoppage, and the economy would enter a severe recession.”
Even as a tourist gazing in awe at the sheer size of a Great Lakes freighter passing through the locks, it’s still hard to comprehend the enormity of the economic link that is the Soo Locks.
A single 1,000-foot freighter carries the equivalent of seven 100-car freight trains, or 3,000 large semi trucks.
According to data from the Lake Carriers Association, a Great Lakes freighter can carry one ton of cargo 607 miles per gallon of fuel. That’s about three times the distance a train could carry the same ton of cargo on a gallon of fuel. A semi could only take that ton 59 miles on a gallon.
Losing that efficiency would wreck American manufacturing as we know it.
The Soo Locks aren’t only a treasure to Michigan, but an absolutely critical piece of North American infrastructure.
John Kran grew up on a Mason County dairy farm and serves Michigan Farm Bureau members as the organization’s national legislative counsel.
QUESTIONS:
- With Congress is likely to debate infrastructure legislation this year, how should our locks and dams be prioritized?
- What role do waterways play in helping us remain competitive in a global economy?
- What other policy goals could we see with these efficiencies? Climate change? An improved rail network?
AND/OR:
- Suggest a discussion topic your group is dying to chew on.
- Tell us all about your favorite field.
- Send us a photograph of a working gate on your farm.
TO RESPOND:
- Email: [email protected]
- Postal mail: MFB Community Group Discussion, ATTN: Michelle Joseph, 7373 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing, MI 48909
- Don’t forget to include your name and CAG affiliation!