U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) secured the $450 million in federal funding included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for the Soo Locks construction project.
Peters and Stabenow pushed for more than $264 million for the project in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ budget. Peters and Stabenow then additionally secured more than $186 million in congressionally directed spending for the completion of the project. Once passed into law, the funding secured in this bill should allow the Army Corps to award all remaining construction contracts for the Soo Locks project, putting the project on a glidepath towards timely completion. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Peters voted to advance the bill to the full Senate.
“The Soo Locks are critical not only to Michigan but to our entire country. Even a temporary shutdown of just one lock would have catastrophic impacts on U.S. jobs, supply chains, and national security,” said Senator Peters. “Building this new lock is necessary to protecting this vital gateway for transporting goods throughout the Great Lakes and beyond, and I was proud to secure the funding needed that will finally see this project across the finish line.”
“In Michigan, we know how vital the Soo Locks are. We are on borrowed time until something happens that shuts them down, which would have devastating consequences for the economy and our national security,” said Senator Stabenow. “That’s why I’ve been fighting in the Senate for over 15 years to ensure the Army Corps has the resources and flexibility they need to build a new lock. This funding is a crucial step in keeping this project on track and finally finishing a second Poe-sized lock.”
The new lock system will be the same size as the existing 55-year-old Poe Lock, the only lock capable of handling the largest vessels that travel through the Great Lakes. The Soo Locks allow ships carrying essential cargo – such as iron ore pellets used to make steel for autos and appliances – to travel between Lake Superior ports and those in the lower Great Lakes. Reports have indicated that if the Poe Lock were to suffer a long closure for any reason, it could lead to a national recession.
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