Michigan pledges commitment to upgrading Soo Locks

LANSING — In a letter sent Friday to President Trump, the state of Michigan pledged $50 million to help upgrade the Soo Locks.

The letter, jointly authored by Gov. Rick Snyder, Lt. Governor Brian Calley, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and House Speaker Tom Leonard, stresses the urgency of upgrading the Soo Locks and the risks to the regional and national economy if the locks were to unexpectedly shut down. In an interview with ABC 10, Calley said, “It’s a fundamental building block of our industry, and we cannot afford to have it go down. When you consider that one piece of infrastructure going down could cost the United States of America 11 million jobs within six months, we know that we can’t afford to let this risk exist any longer.”

The plan to commit $50 million toward the project was first announced during the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island last month. The State has been building a coalition of supporters to help make the project a reality.

For more information on the effort or to read the full letter to President Trump, visit www.michigan.gov/fixthesoolocks.