Sign of Great Lakes spring: Soo Locks are now open

The Army Corps of Engineers officially opened the Soo Locks at midnight Tuesday, kicking off the 2015 Great Lakes shipping season.    The Army Corps of Engineers officially opened the Soo Locks at midnight Tuesday, kicking off the 2015 Great Lakes shipping season. 
   The locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., are among 16 locks that form the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system which extends from Duluth, Minn., to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Together these 16 locks lift or lower ships 600 feet, the height of a 60 story building, according to the American Great Lakes Ports Association.
   Since the Soo Locks closed in January, the Corps has carried out winter maintenance, repair and rehabilitation projects. The agency spent $9.5 million on various projects to enhance the reliability of the Poe and MacArthur Locks. 
   “We’re looking forward to the new shipping season,” said Mark Barker, president of the Interlake Steamship Co., in a statement. “Coming off the second consecutive year of heavy ice on the Lakes, our vessel, the Mesabi Miner, finally left the Port of Duluth-Superior late Monday evening after loading coal at the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal.” 
   Interlake’s nine self-unloading ships annually move about 20 million tons of bulk cargo each year consisting of iron ore, coal, limestone and grain.
   “While the ice isn’t as bad as last year, it is still challenging,” added Tim Heney, chief executive officer of the Thunder Bay Port Authority. As the largest grain export port on the Lakes, the Soo Locks are essential to Thunder Bay since 100 percent of its trade moves through the locks down to the Welland Canal and out through the Seaway. 
   The St. Lawrence Seaway is scheduled to open on April 2.