New Lock at the Soo Phase 1 construction nears completion
SAULT STE MARIE, MI – With only closeout items remaining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo substantially completes its first phase of construction.
“We are waiting on final survey results and anticipate they will show the deepened areas as complete, really only have some punch-list type items, groundskeeping and site cleanup remaining,” said project Supervisory Civil Engineer Rachel Miller.
Trade West Construction, Inc., of Nevada, a small business, began deepening the upstream channel May 4, 2020.
“The New Lock was first authorized in 1986. That’s 36 years ago,” said New Lock at the Soo Chief Mick Awbrey. “It went through a series of changes and reauthorizations, then the Corps of Engineers was able to begin construction in 2020. Reaching substantial completion of this first phase of construction is a monumental milestone!” Using a submergible excavator attachment called a hydraulic ripper, Trade West broke up bedrock approximately six feet thick over a three-quarter mile long stretch, primarily sandstone, from the north channel to a 30-foot depth. The channel depth is needed to accommodate the large Great Lakes freighters.
In all, around 300,000 cubic yards of material, including bedrock and overburden was removed using the ripper, stone grinders and excavator buckets. These operations were all done from barges. The material removed from the channel was placed onto the Northwest Pier’s west end to act as a windbreak for passing ships. The largest rock weighed 55 tons, about the same weight as an adult humpback whale.
Two major phases of the project remain for the New Lock. Phase 2, rehabilitating the upstream approach walls, began in 2021. Following the winter downtime, season two work began again this year in mid-April. This work stabilizes the existing approach walls to allow modern vessels to tie up and wait their turn to pass through the New Lock. The Phase 2 contractor is Kokosing- Alberici LLC, a joint venture of Kokosing Industrial of Ohio and Alberici Constructors of Missouri. They are on track for completion by summer 2024.
The Detroit District awarded Phase 3 on July 1. It is the largest and most complicated phase and involves constructing the new lock chamber and rehabilitating downstream approach walls.
Over 88% of commodity tonnage through the Soo Locks is restricted by vessel size to the Poe Lock. The new lock project will construct a second Poe-sized lock, 1,200 feet by 110 feet on the site of the existing decommissioned Davis and Sabin locks. “We’ll build coffer cells to block off and dewater the construction site,” said Miller. “Power needs to be rerouted through the facility, the Sabin Lock chamber demolished, a new 1,200 foot by 110-foot chamber constructed, the Davis Lock filled in, a new pump well installed and the downstream approach walls rehabilitated.”
The Soo Locks are situated on the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and allow vessels to transit the 21-foot elevation change at the St. Marys Falls Canal. According to a 2015 Department of Homeland Security study on the impact of an unexpected Soo Locks closure, the Soo Locks are nationally critical infrastructure and the reliability of this critical node in the Great Lakes Navigation System is essential to U.S. manufacturing and National Security.
For more information about the New Soo Lock project, visit our website: https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/About/Highlighted-Projects/New_Soo_Lock/
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit
Northshore to stay idle until at least April of next year
Idled in the spring, Northshore Mining is going to stay down for longer.
That’s the update from Lourenco Goncalves, CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, during Friday’s earnings call. He said it will remain idle until at least April of 2023. Goncalves said this is due to less need for pellets, as they are using more prime scrap. “The pellets at Northshore are not needed at this time.”
The mine is in Babbitt, the plant is in Silver Bay. Between the two, there are around 600 employees. About 170 remain on the payroll during the idle. Mayor Wade LeBlanc, from Silver Bay, said he felt really deflated when he heard the news. “Kind of hopeless. It’s not good news, for a small town, and it’s biggest employer. Especially with inflation.”
His counterpart in Babbitt, Mayor Andrea Zupancich, said the same thing. “With property taxes going up, fuel oil, groceries, it’s just a lot. The employees were worried about the idle going longer.”
Unemployment has a limit of 26 weeks in Minnesota. But Rep. Rob Ecklund said he’s already working on language of a bill that would call for an extension. “We need to take care of these workers,” he told us. Rep. Dave Liselgard said, “With the current UI benefits set to expire for many workers in Novembe, an extension is another reason why it’s imperative for lawmakers to return to the capital for a special session. Today‘s development is heartbreaking.”
WDIO
Great Lakes cruises bring passengers, revenue to Muskegon
MUSKEGON, MI – West Michigan welcomes tens of thousands of visitors from around the world every summer and many of them travel by cruise ship. Cruise the Great Lakes expects about 150,000 visitors into ports around the Midwest and Canada in 2022. There are 4 cruise lines serving Great Lakes ports, generating more than $120 million this season. One of those ports is Muskegon.
The Pearl Mist docked in Muskegon on a beautiful summer morning, bringing nearly 200 passengers into town for the day, including Darryl Steinert from Caseville. He says, “We decided to take this cruise for two reasons. One we had never seen Georgian Bay and two, even though we’ve lived on the Great Lakes virtually all of our lives, we had never seen the land from the water side.” This 11-day journey starts in Toronto and ends in Milwaukee – with stops in ports like Mackinac Island, Sault Ste Marie and of course, Muskegon.
Read the full story at this link: https://www.fox17online.com/news/morning-news/great-lakes-cruises-bring-passengers-revenue-to-muskegon?fbclid=IwAR28JB8yOyk9EqngwDgKxWRy37BneuxGHVAv4gwIL-Md2QW_6uRvCtHOs3o
Fox 17
Help Wanted – LMC
Lake Michigan Carferry is seeking QMED’s for placement in the engine department aboard the historic S.S. Badger. Candidates must possess a Merchant Mariner Credential with QMED endorsement, a current Medical Certificate and a valid TWIC card. QMED will expect to live aboard and stand a 4 hour watch, twice a day, 7 days a week for the remainder of the 2022 sailing season (as soon as possible to Oct 16th, 2022) QMED wage is $28.91p/hr with guaranteed 16 hours of overtime per week at $43.37 per hour.
Visit our web site at http://www.ssbadger.com > Join the Crew to fill out an online application or email lbialochowski@interlakems.com for more information.
