Stand a few feet away from a 740-foot freighter as it passes through a 1,200-foot shipping lock to get a sense of scale as reported by MLive.
Shipping complex
On Monday, May 16 at 8:15 a.m., the Baie Comeau, a self-unloading bulk freighter operated by Canada Steamship Lines, sailed through the Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie en way to Nanticoke, Ontario from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The Baie Comeau, named after the Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, passed through the Soo after a busy weekend at the shipping complex, which saw 21 vessels pass through the day before, including tour boats, survey boats, and huge cargo-carrying freighters.
While environment reporters Garret Ellison and Sheri McWhirter, as well as photographer Cory Morse, explore Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this week on a travel reporting project, MLive got a close look at the downbound freighter during a visit to the Soo Locks.
Bipartisan infrastructure
While the US Army Corps of Engineers does maintenance on the smaller MacArthur Lock, all shipping traffic is routed through the Poe Lock.
The Army Corps of Engineers is working on a new Poe-sized lock that will replace the unused Sabin Lock, which is located farthest north of the four-lock complex.
The Army Corps of Engineers obtained $479 million from a recent bipartisan infrastructure package to finish funding for the $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion building project.
Lockage window
The project will build a second lock large enough to handle 1,000-foot freighters that transport iron ore and other commodities between Lake Superior and ports on the lower Great Lakes, where the ore is processed into steel for automobiles and other uses.
The addition of a second Poe-sized lock, according to Lockmaster Chris Albrough, will improve efficiency at the maritime chokepoint by reducing what is essentially a one-lane road for the larger ships, which must often wait hours for a lockage window.
“We expect the delays to be greatly reduced with the new lock,” Albrough added. “We can virtually have one-way travel through each lock on days when traffic is backed up.”
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2030.
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Source: MLive
