A new contract has been issued that will see construction of the $3.22 billion Michigan Soo Lock project advance. The Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District have selected a Kokosing-Alberici-Traylor team for a $222.7 million Chamber Lock Operational Option 3, which is a part of the modernization of the key shipping route through the Great Lakes. The same team is working on the third phase of the project, which began in November 2022.
The Soo Locks are located on the St. Mary’s River and connect Lakes Superior and Huron. The site has two canals and four locks, two of which sit idle. Much of what moves through the locks moves only through the Poe Lock, as many modern vessels cannot fit through the MacArthur Lock.
The new project will see the construction of a new lock the size of the Poe Lock where the decommissioned Davis and Sabin Locks sit, which will afford passage to vessels to transition through the 21-foot elevation change.
The work taking place will include the construction of the lock floor, installation of the mechanical and electrical systems and the filling and emptying system, commissioning the lock chamber, and any finishing required to the sites for cohesion between the Davis and Poe Locks, which is regarded as the most complicated and largest phase of the project.
To make this happen, the existing Sabin Lock will be demolished. Extensive excavation of the bedrock is required, and once constructed, efforts will be undertaken to fabricate and install miter gates, rehabilitate downstream approach walls, install mechanical, electrical, and mooring systems, and construct of a new pump well. The project is expected to be completed in its entirety in 2030.
