The Great Lakes shipping season officially ends at 11:59 p.m. on January 15. That’s when the Soo Locks shut down for winter maintenance.
Carrie Fox with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tells us the locks will remain closed through March 25 for all kinds of maintenance projects.
“It is federally regulated that we have to shut down during this exact period every year,” Fox said. “It gives us a really critical period to do our winter maintenance. So, during that ten week shutdown period, we do all of our critical maintenance for the facility to keep the locks operational during the navigation season.”
The Soo Locks connect Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. Fox says they’re critical for the movement of resources.
“We have more than 4,500 vessels that carry up to 80 million tons of cargo that maneuver through the locks annually, and what they carry mostly is iron ore, coal, wheat, and limestone.”
Fox says maintenance crews will complete structural inspections and install lifting lugs on the upstream gate during the closure. On the downstream, crews will install anchorage components and complete critical structural repairs.
Fox notes the maintenance crews often have to brave frigid temperatures and high winds during the winter projects.
