Recognizing the importance of Great Lakes shipping to the local harbor at St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Congressman Fred Upton today joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in signing a letter expressing support for funding to construct a new Soo Lock at Sault Ste. Marie. The letter requests $75.3-million, consistent with President Trump’s FY 2020 budget request.
Upton says, “Over 80-million tons of commodities transit the Soo Locks annually – supporting a significant part of the nation’s economy,” adding, “The new lock will help add reliability and reduces the threat of a total outage at the Soo Locks, which would devastate our nation’s economy, steel industry, and national defense.”
The $75.3-million request will go toward completing the upstream channel deepening construction, continuing the lock chamber design, and initiating construction on the upstream approach walls.
Here is the full letter dispatched today:
The Honorable Marcy Kaptur Chairwoman
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
2358-A Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Mike Simpson Ranking Member
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
2362-B Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairwoman Kaptur and Ranking Member Simpson:
We write to express our strong support for the construction of a New Soo Lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and urge you to appropriate funding consistent with the President’s FY20 Budget request for $75.3 million the FY 2020 Energy and Water Appropriations bill.
Additionally, we support increased funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s construction account, where projects such as the Soo Locks can compete for funding.
The Soo Locks are the only waterway connection from Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway, making it a critically important piece of federal infrastructure. With approximately 80 million tons of commercial commodities transiting the Locks each year, they are single point of failure in a trillion-dollar -supply chain. An unexpected outage of the 1,200-foot Poe Lock, which is now fifty years old, would have devastating economic effects not only for the Great Lakes region but for the entire nation. Our shopping, steel, and manufacturing industries rely on a healthy and vibrant Great Lakes Navigation System, which ultimately must include resiliency at the Soo Locks.
After years of failed attempts to build a second Poe- sized Lock, construction of a new lock is now a reality. For the first time, we can proudly say that funding for construction of the new lock has been included in a presidential budget request. The $75.3 million in President Trump’s FY20 request will go towards completing the upstream channel deepening construction, continuing the lock chamber design, and initiating construction on the upstream approach walls. These funds will complement the $32 million allocated in the US Army Corps FYI9 workplan. Consistent and reliable investments now can create long term cost savings and reduce potential risks to our nation’s economy and national security.
Thank you for consideration of this request, and we look forward to working with you to ensure funding for this critically important infrastructure project.
The letter is signed by 31 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. You can see the actual letter and signatories by clicking this link: Congressional-Letter-on-Soo-Locks
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market shows a freighter making its way through the St. Joseph River Channel headed toward the inner harbor to deliver construction materials to the local waterfront while recreational boaters, personal watercraft and charter boats share the waterway, all benefiting from federal dollars that keep the waterway open and allow access of such freighters through the Soo lock system.
