SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The Soo Locks will open a few days early this season, kicking off the 2025 Great Lakes shipping season at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 21.
Soo Locks Park will be open for spectators to view the first ships of the season passing through the Poe Lock, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District announced.
The locks have been closed since Jan. 16 after the last vessel of the 2024 season pass through. Critical repairs and maintenance were conducted during the 10-week winter shutdown.
Reopening was scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, March 25. But a nudge from shipping industry executives and an accelerated maintenance schedule combined to make the early opening feasible.
Only the big Poe Lock, which is used by most ships navigating between the upper and lower Great Lakes, will open next week. The smaller MacArthur Lock will remain closed until April.
Opening on the 21st precedes the St. Lawrence Seaway opening by one day, a move that will hopefully will lessen backups at the locks, said Lake Carriers’ Association President James Weakley.
Winter maintenance on the Poe Lock included fabricating and replacing anchorages on gate 3, commissioning the temporary dewatering system, filling in nonoperational ship arrestor recesses on the downstream end, flushing and cleaning the hydraulic systems for the rehabilitated ship arrestor systems, navigation button rehabilitation, removing underground storage tanks and repairing the winter work bridge recesses. The lock was not dewatered this year.
“We worked hard to accelerate work up-front during our annual closure to optimize the short time available,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “Due to the hard work of our crews during an extreme winter season, we’ve been able to accomplish all required work ahead of schedule.”
During the shutdown, Kokosing Industrial Inc., of Cheboygan, completed the Poe Lock upstream stop log recess repairs, a $2.7 million contract.
Anyone wanting to watch the first ships of the season passing through the Poe Lock can visit Soo Locks Park and viewing platform, which will open at 7:30 a.m. on March 21. The visitor center will also host an open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All persons entering are subject to a security search at the Soo Locks entry checkpoint. Firearms, weapons, drugs, pets (except service animals) and bicycles are prohibited.
Those unable to attend can watch the event on Facebook Live here, starting at 7:55 a.m. Friday, March 21.
