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Lock Out: The MacArthur Lock (in photo) is closing down early this season for “critical maintenance,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced this week. The lock, the smaller of two still in operation each year at the Soo Locks, will close to marine traffic 7 a.m. Dec. 15 and will not reopen until 12:01 a.m. on April 30 next spring. The Poe Lock will remain open until the usual Jan. 15, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. or until commercial traffic ceases, whichever occurs first. The operating season is fixed by federal regulation and is driven in part by vessel operation ability in typical ice conditions. “The 800-foot-long MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is 78 years old; the maintenance period is critical to keeping the lock in operation during the shipping season,” Maintenance Branch Chief LeighAnn Ryckeghem says in the release. The release continues: Every year, the Corps of Engineers uses the winter period to perform maintenance to keep the Soo Locks operating. The MacArthur requires several projects to be completed before reopening. “The first step is to place the upper and lower bulkheads, then our dive team goes into the freezing water to seal the bulkheads and prepare the lock for dewatering,” LeighAnn says. The team will install a temporary panel bridge across the MacArthur Lock. This panel bridge will provide the ability to mobilize materials and equipment to the job sites throughout the winter closure. Maintenance crews will complete hydraulic steel structure inspections and repair the MacArthur Lock’s miter gate 5 sill. Morrish-Wallace Construction Inc. (Ryba Marine Construction from Cheboygan, Mich.), was awarded $7.276 million to replace the MacArthur Lock tainter valve machinery connected to the gate. “The contract was awarded in August of 2020 due to the long lead time needed to manufacture the mechanical components,” Chief of Construction Nicholas Pettit said. The scheduled construction completion date is April 30, 2022. In addition, crews will perform a wide range of other maintenance tasks from fender timber replacements on the piers to inspections and preventative maintenance on electrical and mechanical systems. Work on the New Lock, which will replace two older locks for one new Poe-sized structure, also halts for the winter.
Meanwhile, the Corps and the International Lake Superior Board of Control updated the water levels for Lake Superior for November. As a result of the drier than average weather and water supply conditions, the water levels
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