Corps: New Soo Lock Project Gets Under Way
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not fund a new lock in
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, through the Recovery Act (economic
stimulus) in favor of projects that could be done much quicker.
But, the Corps will start the lock replacement project this
summer by building dams to hold back water to allow excavation and
other work. It’s a step needed for lock construction, says John
Niemiec, project manager.
Installing the dams with $17 million from Congress will take
until fall 2010. The Corps had a groundbreaking ceremony June 30 for
the new lock, to be built in the footprint of the outdated Sabin and
Davis locks. It will serve as a backup to the Poe Lock, the only one
large enough to give 1,000-foot freighters access to Lake Superior.
The Corps chose projects for stimulus funding that it could
finish in the next couple of years, John says. The new Soo lock will
take eight to 10 years to finish and “will probably need $450 million
or more.”
History Notes
 On
August 6, 1945: World War II fighter ace Richard I. Bong, a Poplar,
Wisconsin, native, dies when his jet plane crashes. Source: Wisconsin
Historical Society
On September 3, 1962: Trans Canada Highway officially opens; its final leg was Wawa. Source: Today's Canadian Headline
September
13, 1930: The municipal airport in Duluth is dedicated and 15,000
spectators attend the ceremony and air show. Source: Minnesota
Historical Society
On
September 24, 1926: A mine collapse in Ironwood, Michigan, kills 3 men;
43 are rescued after 129 hours underground. Source: Ironwood Chamber of
Commerce
|
