Soo Locks - WikiHQ

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 . The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year, 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.

United States locks

The U.S. locks form part of a 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.

Locks

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 long, wide, and deep. 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. The original Poe Lock was engineered by Orlando Poe and, at long and wide, was the largest in the world when completed in 1896. 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 long, wide, and deep. Each chamber was long, wide at the top of its walls and at its bottom, and deep. 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 long, wide, and 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.
The Davis Lock, built in 1914. At the time of its completion, the Davis Lock was the longest lock in the world at long, and was also wide and deep.
The Sabin Lock, built in 1919. Groundbreaking for the new lock project was held on June 30, 2009. The lock will be equal in size to the Poe Lock and will provide much needed additional capacity for the large lake freighters. 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.

Engineers Day

thumb|Soo Locks on the St. Marys River connecting Lakes [[Lake Superior|Superior and Huron.]]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, operates the Soo Locks Visitors Center and viewing deck for the public. 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. 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 lock

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. The Canadian lock is used for recreational and tour boats; major shipping traffic uses the U.S. locks.

Gallery

File:Soo Locks 19th Century.jpg|The first Soo Locks in the 19th century

File:Anchor Line Steamer in the Locks (NBY 9947).jpg|Anchor Line steamer in the Soo Locks, ca. 1900s

File:PoeLock whaleback MHGL00371f.jpg|A whaleback traverses the Poe Lock, ca. 1910

File:Sault canal NHS adjusted.jpg|Canadian Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

File:Poe Lock - 2014.jpg|The last ship of the 2013 season passes through the Poe Lock

File:USCGC Mackinaw passes through Soo Locks 130314-G-ZZ999-001.jpg|USCGC Mackinaw passes through Soo Locks

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References

33 CFR 207.440
33 CFR 207.441

External links

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