SAULT STE MARIE (WKZO AM/FM) — Senator Gary Peters calls the Soo Locks the Achilles heel of the U.S. Economy. He says if the vital and aging waterway ever broke down for any significant amount of time, the results would be devastating.
He says a prolonged closure could shut down major industries, and trigger a recession because of all the vital raw materials that are shipped through the locks.
Ships carrying most of the coal and iron ore for the steel mills and auto industry travel through that bottle neck, which connects Lake Superior with the Lower Great Lakes.
Friday most of Michigan’s Congressional Delegation and many State officials including the Governor toured the locks and called on Congress to authorize the billion dollars it will take to build a new and bigger lock.
They say it may be the most critical infrastructure issue of our time.
