Terrorism concerns may boost long-stalled Great Lakes shipping project http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw118897_20050725.htm July 25, 2005, 3:32 PM SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) -- A few weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks, security guards became suspicious when two men videotaped the Great Lakes shipping locks in this Upper Peninsula town on the Canadian border.
FBI agents quickly determined the pair, U.S. citizens of Middle Eastern descent, posed no threat. But security is tighter these days at the Soo Locks, a crucial passageway for commercial vessels between Lakes Huron and Superior. And as the local community celebrates the 150th anniversary of the locks this summer, concerns about terrorism may help secure funding for a $341 million expansion that's been stalled for nearly two decades. The plan is to build a second lock that could accommodate the biggest freighters on the lakes. Among them are behemoths longer than three football fields, whose cavernous bellies hold enough iron ore to produce steel for 60,000 cars. Three locks are in service, but just one -- the Poe -- is roomy enough for the giants. If it were disabled for long, shipments from the nation's only remaining iron mines in Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula to steel mills in cities such as Detroit and Cleveland would be drastically curtailed. More than three-fourths of the nation's iron ore passes through the locks. "If you want to take down the steel industry in this country ... that's the way to do it," said U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Menominee Democrat whose district includes the locks. The effect would ripple across the economy, he said, particularly affecting industries such as automobile and building construction. "We'd lose the most productive vessels in the fleet and the vast majority of our carrying capacity," said Glen Nekvasil, spokesman for the Lake Carriers' Association, which represents most of the U.S.-flagged cargo ships on the Great Lakes. Midwestern shipments of other bulk commodities such as coal and grain also would plummet, said Ron Johnson, trade development director with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority on Superior's far western end. No lock has been added to the complex since the Poe opened in 1968. Congress authorized another lock of the same size in 1986 and in recent years has funded preliminary work such as engineering and design. But no construction money has been appropriated. In a cost-benefit analysis this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district office in Detroit said a new lock wasn't justified on economic grounds alone, but was worth the money when national security was considered. The report was forwarded to the assistant defense secretary for civil works, whose endorsement is needed for the project to be added to the federal budget. The eight states adjoining the Great Lakes would be required to kick in about $81 million. Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania have set aside funds and Wisconsin has promised to contribute, said Charles Uhlarik, project manager in the Army Corps' Detroit office. "We've been very lucky that nothing serious has happened to the Poe Lock," Uhlarik said. "Even if there isn't a terrorist attack, what if a vessel hit a gate accidentally or a hinge broke?" Studies estimate that if the Poe were knocked out of action for six months, the shipping industry would suffer an $89 million loss, he said. Rerouting cargo aboard trains, trucks or other haulers would exceed $400 million and pose a logistical nightmare. The Army Corps says it would take six trains, each with 100 cars, or 2,308 large trucks to equal the capacity of a single 1,000-foot lake freighter. Long delays would be inevitable, Johnson said. "You can't just push a button and say, "There's 10 more 100-car trains,"' he said. "There just isn't enough capacity." One reason the project has been held up so long is that, when it comes to name recognition, the Soo Locks are no Brooklyn Bridge. Their obscure location means less political support. They are planted at the northern end of the St. Marys River, a winding, 63-mile-long link between Lakes Superior and Huron. Such connecting channels make the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River a unified commercial waterway extending more than 2,300 miles, from the mouth of the Atlantic to the heartland port of Duluth, Minn. ------ On the Net: Soo Locks: http://www.soolocksvisitorscenter.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. FAIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of "Fair Use" was established as law by Section 107 of The Copyright Act of 1976. 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