Chamber Lock Operational Option 3 awarded for New Lock at the Soo

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District’s New Lock at the Soo project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, awards $222.7 million contract Option 3 (Chamber Lock Operational) to Kokosing Alberici Traylor, LLC (KAT) of Westerville, Ohio.

The Option 3 award will allow for construction to proceed as required to have a fully functional lock. 

“Option 3 includes construction of the lock floor, installation of the mechanical and electrical systems, completion of the filling and emptying system, placing soil in between the New Lock and old Davis Lock, and commissioning of the lock chamber,” said Inland Navigation Design Center, New Lock at the Soo Technical Lead Darin White. 

With the on-time award of Option 3, the project continues to be on track for completion in 2030.

The New Lock at the Soo project is being built in 3 phases. Phase 1 (Upstream Channel Deepening) was completed in 2022, and Phase 2 (Upstream Approach Walls) is nearing completion this summer. The Phase 3 contract was awarded to KAT in July 2022 as a base contract at $1.068 billion. Awarding the base contract allowed the contractor to begin work in 2022 with the remaining work (contract options), to be awarded over the next three years.  

“To date, Options 1A (Upstream Wide Wall Monoliths), 1B (Chamber Wall Monoliths), 1C (New Power Plant Bridge Ramp), 2 (New Pump Well Completion) and 7 (Alligator’s Mouth Mooring Area) have been awarded, totaling $503.7 million,” said District Senior Civilian Kevin McDaniels. “The leadership team throughout the Corps of Engineers have made the New Lock at the Soo project a national priority and we have continued to see strong support every step along the way.” 

Three contract options, totaling $95.3 million, await to be awarded. These options are Option 4 (Downstream Work), Option 5 (Hands-Free Mooring), and Option 6 (Downstream Ship Arrestors). The Corps of Engineers aims to award these options over the next year. 

Phase 3 construction began in late 2022, and is expected to last seven years, given efficient funding and favorable weather. The New Lock at the Soo will be constructed in the footprint of the Sabin Lock and will be the same size as the Poe Lock (1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 32 feet deep). 

“The contractor has completed over $400 million worth of work through the end of July 2024,” said New Lock at the Soo Senior Project Manager Mollie Mahoney. “The contractor is demolishing existing concrete monoliths and beginning bedrock excavation in the footprint of the existing Sabin Lock.  In the Davis Lock they are beginning excavating for the New Pump Well and preparing to fill the Davis Lock with excavated material.  The contractor is also constructing a new bridge to the New Power Plant and a new utility access structure.”

Additional activities planned to occur in 2024 include pump well substructure construction and new concrete monolith construction.

The Soo Locks allow vessels to transit the 21-foot elevation change at the St. MarysFalls Canal. Over 88 percent of commodity tonnage through the Soo Locks is restricted by vessel size to the Poe Lock. The New Lock at the Soo project will construct a second Poe-sized lock. 

The Soo Locks are essential to U.S. manufacturing and National Security, the New Lock at the Soo project will provide resiliency for this critical node in the Great Lakes Navigation System. A 2015 Department of Homeland Security study estimates a six-month Poe Lock closure would temporarily reduce the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $1.1 trillion, resulting in the loss of 11 million jobs.  

For more information about the New Lock at the Soo project, visit our website: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Mission/Projects/Article/3833546/new-lock-at-the-soo/ or contact Detroit District Public Affairs Specialist Carrie Fox, 906-259-2841.