Unlocked: Army Corps Report Says It's Time for Action on the Soo Locks

Today, the Army Corps of Engineers sent to Congress its Soo Lock Economic Validation Report on the necessity of building a second freighter-sized lock to serve the Great Lakes alongside the 49-year old Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie.

The conclusions in the report are similar to a 2015 report by the Department of Homeland Security that urged the building of a second lock because of the Soo Locks' strategic value and vital importance to America's economy and national security.

Before today, the Army Corps' most recent report on the Soo Locks was done in 2005. That report failed to account for the costly alternatives that would need to be used if the Locks had an unexpected shutdown. That report also did not account for the added value of the commodities that move through the Locks to the supply chains of the American economy. The Army Corps was instructed to account for the added value of commodities after Congressman John Moolenaar included it in legislation passed last year.

In 2005, the Army Corps' report found that the benefit-to-cost ratio of building a new Lock was 0.73. In today's report, the Army Corps concludes that the benefit-to-cost ratio is 2.42. A ratio over 1.00 is needed to make a project a priority for the Army Corps.

Additionally, the Army Corps estimates the cost of the building the new Lock at $922 million over ten years. This is an increase over previous estimates done in 1986 and 2005.

Congressman Moolenaar, a long-time advocate of building a new second freighter-sized lock, along with Congressmen Jack Bergman and Paul Mitchell, advocated for the construction when they met with President Trump in Michigan on April 28. Following the discussion, the president publicly supported the Soo Locks project.

Congressman Moolenaar is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which funds Army Corps projects. He welcomed the new report and made the following statement:

"Today's report from the Army Corps shows how vital the Soo Locks are to our country's economy and national security. Everyone in Michigan, along with President Trump, knows we need a new, second lock to support the current lock so freighters will always be able to transit the Great Lakes and I will be working in Congress to secure funding for this project. After years of studies and reports, today's report is a greenlight for the Army Corps. It's time to get this done and improve our country's aging infrastructure."

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