The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District will open the Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., to all marine traffic at 8 a.m. on March 21, marking the start of the 2025 Great Lakes shipping season.
USACE announced in a statement today the decision to open early follows a request from the shipping industry, which cited the completion of winter maintenance and the need to accommodate an expected increase in vessel traffic. Lake Carriers’ Association president, James Weakley, said the early opening would help manage the influx of foreign and Canadian domestic vessels when the Seaway opens on March 22.
The Soo Locks closed on Jan. 16 for a 10-week maintenance period. Work completed on the Poe Lock included replacing anchorages on Gate 3, commissioning a temporary dewatering system, repairing ship arrestor recesses, flushing and cleaning hydraulic systems, rehabilitating navigation buttons, removing underground storage tanks, and repairing winter work bridge recesses. The Poe Lock was not dewatered this year.
Contractors also completed upstream stop log recess repairs. Kokosing Industrial Inc., Cheboygan, Mich., was awarded a $2.7 million contract on Sept. 23, 2024, to rehabilitate the stop log recesses by removing unsound concrete, making structural repairs, installing new concrete, and adding steel corner protection and wall armor.
Soo Locks operations manager, LeighAnn Ryckeghem, said maintenance crews were able to complete required work ahead of schedule, allowing for the early opening. Maintenance branch chief, Nicholas Pettit, credited the team’s efforts in accelerating work during extreme winter conditions.
The MacArthur Lock, located south of the Poe, will remain closed for maintenance until April.
