President Joe Biden signed into law in November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Half of the $1.2 trn will make way for the rebuilding of the now old infrastructure projects which shaped modern-day America.
The funds arrive at a time when the consciousness and awareness of the need for a better environment linger in the air. A portion of all those men induced damages made to the environment also seeks to be rectified. This is payback time for the Americans who are now hell-bent on protecting the environment, mud banks, reservoirs, water bodies marine life, etc. Desilting of lakes and rivers, water bodies, etc will help to mitigate flood induced destruction considering the different calamities the nation faced in the past two decades including the numerous storms.
Economic observers in the country feel that most of the funds will go into repairing and rebuilding of the existing infrastructure and will have less to do with convenience adequacy and this is a concern provided that the cities in the United States continue to keep adding millions to their population as each decade passes by.
Some economists attribute the failure of the previous governments to add the rail and road networks substantially which has now resulted in the overcrowding of the airports in the country.
The current infrastructure requirements galore require huge funding. For example, the world’s largest consumer market was importing more stuff than ever before and currently, all the non-major ports are witnessing the call of larger vessels at these ports which have again called for the channel deepening and dredging of these ports to accommodate the larger vessels calling in each day. This is crucial and timebound and the President’s Infrastructure funds kick in at the right time.
Another instance of the President’s Infrastructure funds being a boon to the local economy is the Soo Locks project. Despite efforts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with a measly $50 mn in 2018, the project was lagging and dragging. Now with the nearly $1.5 billion being fully funded, thanks to the additional funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, building a new lock will make supply chains more resilient and bolster commerce on the Great Lakes.
Soo Locks project has been fully funded thanks to, using $479 million of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ $561 million received funds for the fiscal year in Michigan and on the Great Lakes.
According to the release, this funding could also put the project ahead of schedule by as much as two years and is one of the largest amounts ever budgeted for a single Army Corps construction project in one year. The new lock is currently in Phase 2, with the Phase 3 construction of the lock chamber expected to be awarded in spring 2022. It is critical to note that some of the pumps operating the locks are more than 100 years old and modernization is long overdue considering it a critical piece of infrastructure. The Soo Locks are nationally critical infrastructure, and their reliability is essential to U.S. manufacturing and National Security. A failure of the Poe Lock would have significant impacts on the U.S. economy, especially the steel industry.
According to the Army Corps, upstream channel deepening for the new lock was completed in mid-December, excavating about 150,000 cubic yards of Jacobsville sandstone to deepen the north canal enough for the 1,000-foot ships that will use it. This deepening work will resume in the spring.
Once completed, the new passage will reportedly be able to accommodate 1,000-foot lakers—a common transport for Minnesota- and Michigan-based taconite shipping to steelmakers. According to Star Tribune, the Soo Locks are responsible for $17.4 billion in economic activity every year, with over 80 million tons of cargo passing through.
According to Katalenich, the project consists of three phases:
Phase 1: Deepening the upstream channel to 32 feet and removing more than 250,000 cubic yards of bedrock and overburdened materials, scheduled to be completed in 2022;
Phase 2: Rehabilitation of the channel walls and other lock aspects, scheduled to be completed in 2024; and
Phase 3: Construction of the new lock chamber, contract expected to be awarded in February and completed by fall of 2030.
Katalenich was optimistic that the project would be complete well before estimates if weather permits.
