Sault Sainte Marie Canals

St. Mary's Falls Canal
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Aerial view of the Soo Locks. View is to the east, with Canada on the left and the United States on the right
Location:	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Built/Founded:	1837
Architect:	Corps of Engineers
Architectural style(s):	No Style Listed
Governing body:	ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Added to NRHP:	November 13, 1966
Designated NHL:	November 13 1966[1]
NRHP Reference#:	66000394[2]

McArthur lock from the inside

The first Soo Locks in the 19th century

A whaleback traverses the Poe Lock, ca. 1910

The Soo Locks allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year.^[3] This is achieved in spite of the locks being closed during the winter from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes. The winter closure period is used to inspect and maintain the locks.

The locks bypass the rapids of the St. Marys River where the water falls 7 meters (21 feet) from Lake Superior. Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Ma-ree) gives its name to both the Canadian and U.S. cities at the site, in Ontario and Michigan, respectively. The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge between the United States and Canada permits vehicular traffic to pass over the locks.

U.S. Soo locks

The U.S. locks form part of a 1.6 mile (2.6 km) canal formally named the St. Marys Falls Canal. The entire canal, including the locks, is owned and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which provides free passage. The first iteration of the U.S. Soo Locks was completed in May 1855, and operated by the State of Michigan until transferred to the U.S. Army in 1881.

The current configuration consists of four parallel lock chambers, each running east to west; starting at the Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, shoreline and moving north, these are:

• The MacArthur Lock, built in 1943. It is 244 meters (800 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide, and 9 meters (29.5 feet) deep. This is large enough to handle ocean-going vessels ("salties") that must also pass through the smaller locks in the Welland Canal. The first vessel through was the SS Carl D. Bradley.

• The Poe Lock, re-built in 1968, after the Saint Lawrence Seaway had opened. It is 366 meters (1200 feet) long, 34 meters (110 feet) wide, and 10 meters (32 feet) deep. It can take ships carrying 72,000 tons of cargo. The Poe is the only lock that can handle the large lakers used on the upper lakes. The original Poe Lock was engineered by Orlando Poe and, at 800 feet long and 100 feet wide, was the largest in the world when completed in 1896^[4].

• The Davis Lock, built in 1914. It is 411 meters (1350 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide, and 7 meters (23.1 feet) deep. This lock is used rather infrequently (only 5 commercial/private and 34 government vessel passages, on 14 October days, during 2008^[5]) to lock light freighters, tour boats, and small craft when traffic warrants. The SS James A Farrell was the first vessel to lock through.^{[citation needed]}

• The Sabin Lock, built in 1919. It is 411 meters (1350 feet) long, 24 meters (80 feet) wide, and 7 meters (23.1 feet) deep. This lock has been placed in caretaker status and is no longer used.

The Davis and Sabin locks have been slated for replacement since 1986 with a new 'Super-Lock', which would provide a second lock capable of accommodating the lakers. Groundbreaking for the new lock project was held on June 30, 2009, although the bulk of the funding necessary to complete the project has not yet been appropriated.^[6] This construction will further limit usage of the Davis Lock.

North of the Sabin Lock is an additional channel with a small hydroelectric plant that provides electricity for the lock complex.

2008 Panorama from the MacArthur Lock, facing north

Engineers Day

On the last Friday of every June, the public is allowed to go behind the security fence and cross the lock gates of the U.S. Soo Locks for the annual Engineers Day Open House.^[7] Visitors are able to get close enough to the ships passing through the two operating locks to touch them.

Canadian Soo locks

See: Sault Ste. Marie Canal

References

33 CFR 207.440 33 CFR 207.441

Further reading

• Taylor, Paul (October 2009) Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer (Kent State University Press) ISBN 1606350404; ISBN 978-1606350409.

External links

Aerial views http://www.aerialpics.com/H/saultlocks.html

• Soo Locks homepage US Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks page
• Web Camera view of the American locks
• Aerial photo of locks; note ship in lower lock
• Animation of how the Soo Locks work.
• Soo Locks Visitors Center website
• YouTube video HD video of a ship passing through the MacArthur Lock

Coordinates: 46°30′09″N 84°20′54.6″W / 46.5025°N 84.3485°W / 46.5025; -84.3485

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