Michigan Will Be Adding A New Lock

Great news for the U.P., Michigan and the Country.

Last month I wrote about the U.S. House of Representatives voting to approve legislation which include authorizing $922.4 million to build a large replacement lock at the Upper Peninsula's Soo Locks.  I informed everyone that the bill authorizing the funding had to then pass another hurdle and that was the U.S. Senate.

Well the U.S. Senate voted yesterday and approved the legislation which also included authorization in the amount of $922.4 million dollars to build a large replacement lock in the U.P.’s Soo Locks.

Can you imagine the number of great paying jobs that will be generated during this build and due to these new jobs the boom to the economy in that area?

This project, which has been sitting on the sidelines for a decade waiting for funding, will take about 7 to 10 years according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Why is this great news not only for Michigan and the U.P. area because the current Poe is the only one of the four aging locks owned and operated by the Army Corps in the Soo which is big enough to handle the largest freighters that carry approximately 89% of the cargo through the Locks.

The Army Corp of Engineers recommended a replacement 1,200-foot-long lock to mirror the 49-year-old aging Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie.

A study by the Army Corp concluded that our Poe Lock is a weak link in the North American industrial economy.  If there was an unplanned six-month closure, that closure could cause the U.S. economy to go into a deep recession, costing up to 11 million jobs.

Republican Congressmen John Moolenaar said that:

After more than a decade of inaction in Washington, the Soo Locks are receiving the attention they deserve and progress is being made.

Let us hope that there are no more hurdles in the way of building this new replacement lock, I am looking at you environmentalist, and the economic boom will be realized here in Michigan and the economic interest of what actual is shipped through the Locks will protect the United States from an economic collapse if the Poe lock was to be shut down without a back-up.

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