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solders was stationed at the locks to guard them from attack. In 1955, the Soo Locks reached its centennial year, and another gala celebration was held. In 1961, work was begun on a new Poe Lock to handle ships up to 1,000 feet long with cargo capacities of more than 50,000 tons that were on the drawing boards. The new Poe Lock opened to traffic in 1969. Until the mid-1960s, as many as 80 ships a day paraded through the Soo Locks, giving credence to the proud claim that more tonnage passed through the waterway in an average season than the Suez and Panama canals combined. During the 1970s and 1980s, many smaller vessels of around 600-700 Postcard view shows the passenger steamer North West leaving the locks, perhaps in the 1920s. feet in length were replaced by larger, deeper carriers, reducing the number of lakers sailing. As the steel industry shrank in the 1980s and 1990s, a number of otherwise sturdy vessels were declared surplus and sent to scrap, further cutting As part of it its mission Engineers operates and maintains the Soo Locks, as well as all of the Great Lakes’ connectins channels, keeping commerce moving and bringing billions of dollars into the regional economy. the size of the Great Lakes fleet. By 2000, the number of passages per day at the Soo Locks had dwindled to around two dozen or fewer commercial vessels, and today the number of vessels in active service continues to shrink. Discussion continues about building a new U.S. lock in the space now occupied by the Davis and Sabin locks. It would relieve the pressure on the Poe, the only lock able to handle vessels more than 730 feet long and 76 feet wide. Shippers have long feared a breakdown or accident that could disable the Poe, rendering Lake Superior ports inaccessible to most of their vessels. Cost of such a lock, estimated at more than $250 million, would be paid for by the Federal states the Great Lakes. Although numerous studies have been conducted, no lock construction has begun. Information on the Soo Locks 150th celebration is online @ www.saultstemarie.com KYS‘05