The new bi-partisan infrastructure package passed recently in Congress will pump more funding into two high-profile Great Lakes projects, both of which have significant indirect impact on Southwest Michigan.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will devote $479 million to construction of a new shipping lock at Sault Ste. Marie. The money will be enough to finish the long-sought lock, which will boost passage of cargo vessels between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. That project helps maintain shipping traffic in the future at the Port of St. Joseph and others North along the Lakeshore.
An additional $226 million will help complete preconstruction and design work at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Illinois. Technologies are being installed there to prevent invasive carp from reaching Lake Michigan, protecting the Lake Michigan fishery, critical to sport fishing on both sides of the Lake.
