First completed in 1855, the Soo Locks have been providing vessels safe passage for well over a century. The Locks are an integral part of the Michigan and US economy with over $500 billion worth of iron ore shipped through the Locks each year. There are currently four parallel chambers that make up the Soo Locks today. The largest of which, the Poe Lock, stands at 1,200 feet long and handles 85 percent of the cargo shipped through the region. The Poe Lock is the only lock that can handle the largest iron ore freighters, and if it was shut down – even for repairs – it would send the country into a recession and result in the loss of 11 million jobs.
The Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance and Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce call on President Donald Trump and federal authorities to rebuild and modernize the decades-old Soo Locks. With your support, we hope to finally give America the infrastructure it deserves.
Click here to read the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance's statement from early May about President Trump's support of modernizing the Soo Locks.
Please click the button to add your name and contact information to our list of supporters. We will be compiling a list of businesses and individuals throughout the region to show Congress strong support from northern Michigan for modernizing the Soo Locks.
Please contact Kent Wood, Director of Government Relations, at (231) 995-7109 or kentw@tcchamber.org if you have any questions.