Soo Locks

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The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. They are located on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, between the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. They bypass the rapids of the river, where the water falls Template:Cvt. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> despite being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter closure period is used to inspect and maintain the locks.

The locks share a name (usually shortened and anglicized as Soo) with the two cities named Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario and in Michigan, located on either side of the St. Marys River. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge between the United States and Canada permits vehicular traffic to pass over the locks. A railroad bridge crosses the St. Marys River just upstream of the highway bridge.

The first locks were opened in 1855. Along with the Erie Canal, constructed in 1824 in central New York State, they were among the great infrastructure engineering projects of the antebellum United States. The Soo Locks were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.<ref name="nhlnom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

United States locksEdit

The U.S. locks form part of a Template:Cvt canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Canal. The entire canal, including the locks, is owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which provides free passage. The first iteration of the U.S. Soo Locks was completed in May 1855; it was operated by the state of Michigan until transferred to the U.S. Army in 1881.

LocksEdit

The configuration consists of two parallel lock chambers.Starting at the Michigan shoreline and moving north toward Ontario, these are:

The MacArthur Lock, built in 1943. It is Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide, and Template:Cvt deep.<ref name="SooToday">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is large enough to handle ocean-going vessels ("salties") that must also pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. The first vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley. Per 33 CFR § 207.440 (v), "The maximum overall dimensions of vessels that will be permitted to transit MacArthur Lock are 730 feet in length and 75 feet in width, except as provided in paragraph (v)(1) of this section." Per U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sault St Marie, the length of the ship is restricted to 730’ due to the southwest wall alignment entering and exiting the MacArthur Lock.

The Poe Lock, built in 1896. The first vessel to pass through was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tug USS Hancock.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The original Poe Lock was engineered by Orlando Poe and, at Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide, was the largest in the world when completed in 1896.<ref name="pepper">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The lock was re-built in 1968 to accommodate larger ships, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway opened and made passage of such ships possible to the Great Lakes. It is now Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide, and Template:Cvt deep.<ref name="SooToday" /> It can take ships carrying Template:Cvt of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lake freighters used on the Upper Lakes. The first passage after the rebuild was by the Phillip R. Clarke in 1969.<ref name="pepper"/>

Former locksEdit

The State Lock, built between 1853 and 1855. The State of Michigan was given land by the federal government to construct a lock to allow for quicker transit of new copper and iron ore deposits discovered around the Lake Superior basin. The lock consisted of two chambers back-to-back to bridge the difference in water level.<ref name="History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Each chamber was Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide at the top of its walls and Template:Cvt at its bottom, and Template:Cvt deep.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Michiganology">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The State Lock was replaced by the original Poe Lock in 1896.

The Weitzel Lock, was built between 1873 and 1881 directly south of the State Lock, and was the first lock to be operated by the federal government. At Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide, and Template:Cvt deep, it was the longest lock in the world upon its completion. It was decommissioned in 1919, and was eventually replaced by the MacArthur Lock in 1943.<ref name="History"/><ref>Saint Marys Falls Ship Canal (Soo Locks Historic District, Soo Canals), Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, 2020.</ref><ref>Lange, Alex, "The Mighty Soo: Construction of the Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan" Template:Webarchive, The Unwritten Record. National Archives, January 5, 2017.</ref>
The Davis Lock, built in 1914. At the time of its completion, the Davis Lock was the longest lock in the world at Template:Cvt long, and was also Template:Cvt wide and Template:Cvt deep.<ref name="History"/> It was officially decommissioned in 2010.<ref name="NewEra">Template:Cite news</ref>
The Sabin Lock, built in 1919.<ref name="History"/> It was constructed as a twin lock to the Davis Lock, and named after Louis Carlton Sabin (1867-1950), the designer of both locks, who served as General Superintendent of the ship canal at The Soo from 1906 to 1925. It was officially decommissioned in 2010 at the same time as the Davis Lock.<ref name="NewEra"/>

New lockEdit

A new lock is under construction and is slated to be completed by 2030.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Groundbreaking for the new lock project was held on June 30, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The lock will be equal in size to the Poe Lock and will provide much needed additional capacity for the large lake freighters.<ref name="SooToday2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The new lock replaces two locks (Davis Lock and Sabin Lock), which were obsolete and used infrequently. In May 2020, construction on Phase One of the replacement of the Sabin Lock was started.

North of the new lock is an additional channel with a small hydroelectric plant, which provides electricity for the lock complex.

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Engineers DayEdit

File:Soo Locks 2020-09-06.jpg

Soo Locks on the St. Marys River connecting Lakes Superior and Huron.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, operates the Soo Locks Visitors Center and viewing deck for the public.<ref name="clui">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the last Friday of every June, the public is allowed to go behind the security fence and cross the lock gates of the U.S. Soo Locks for the annual Engineers Day Open House.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During this event, visitors are able to get close enough to touch ships passing through the two regularly operating locks. Other than on that day, because the locks are United States Federal property under command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unauthorized personnel and civilians are restricted from the locks under threat of fines or imprisonment for trespassing.

Canadian lockEdit

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The first lock to be built in the St. Marys River was on the Canadian side in 1798 by the Northwest Fur Company to facilitate the fur trade.<ref name="History"/> It was destroyed by the Americans in 1814 during the War of 1812 to disrupt British trade.<ref name="History"/> Currently, a single small lock is operated on the Canadian side of the Soo. Opened in 1895, it was rebuilt in 1987, and is Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide and Template:Cvt deep.<ref name=CanadianLock>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Canadian lock is used for recreational and tour boats; major shipping traffic uses the U.S. locks.

GalleryEdit

Soo Locks 19th Century.jpg

The first Soo Locks in the 19th century
Anchor Line Steamer in the Locks (NBY 9947).jpg

Anchor Line steamer in the Soo Locks, ca. 1900s
PoeLock whaleback MHGL00371f.jpg

A whaleback traverses the Poe Lock, ca. 1910
Sault canal NHS adjusted.jpg

Canadian Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Poe Lock - 2014.jpg

The last ship of the 2013 season passes through the Poe Lock
USCGC Mackinaw passes through Soo Locks 130314-G-ZZ999-001.jpg

USCGC Mackinaw passes through Soo Locks

ReferencesEdit

33 CFR 207.440
33 CFR 207.441

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External linksEdit

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Aerial views
Soo Locks homepage U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks page
Web Camera view of the American locks NOTE: This Connection is Untrusted
Animation of how the Soo Locks work.
YouTube video HD video of a ship passing through the MacArthur Lock

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