Army Corps Includes New Soo Lock Funding in 2019 Work Plan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has submitted its 2019 work plan to Congress. The plan includes $32 million as an initial outlay for the design and construction of a new, second freighter-sized lock at the Soo Locks. The work plan is prepared by the Corps as an outline of how it will allocate funding for its work in the year ahead.

Congressman John Moolenaar, a long-time supporter of building a new lock at the Soo Locks, wrote a letter to the Corps in October requesting that it include funding in the work plan released today. The bipartisan letter was signed by 27 other members of Congress from Great Lakes states.

He made the following statement on today's news:

"My colleagues and I called for the Army Corps to include this crucial funding for new Soo Locks construction in the 2019 work plan. Today's announcement is real progress and it means design work will begin on a new, second Lock. We only have one lock right now and it's 50 years old, so starting this process sooner is vital to ensuring we have a second lock to support the millions of American jobs that depend on the iron ore that goes through the Soo each year.

"Working with Congressmen Jack Bergman and Paul Mitchell, our colleagues in the House, and by gaining President Trump's support in April, we are now closer to making this project a reality for the first time in decades. I also want to commend the leadership at the Army Corps for including this funding in the work plan and I look forward to working with them as the project moves forward in the years ahead."

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