Paul R. Tregurtha Model Ship + Soo Locks Built To Solve Decades Long Problem

Well, this is certainly something you don't see every day. I ran across a post from the Interlake Steamship Company on Facebook that caught my attention. I'm kind of a boat nerd, and I like learning things about these massive ships on the Great Lakes. This looks like a super cool project to be a part of.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is trying to tackle a problem that Great Lakes Shipping has always dealt with - ice in the Soo Locks. In the springtime, brackish ice flows into the lock chambers, and it slows vessel traffic. This doesn't damage the ships, but it does cause the locks to cycle more often, slowing things down and creating more wear and tear on the system.

To solve this, the US Army Corps of Engineers partnered with Arcadis Bergman, working with Verdantas Flow Labs. They have a specialized lab in Holden, Massachusetts. They have built a 1:32 scale model of the Soo Locks and filled it with 10,000 pounds of synthetic ice. They even built a model freighter that's based on the M/V Paul R. Tregutha to run the tests.

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They'll be conducting 40 days of testing, trying different strategies, including ice booms and barriers, to prevent the ice from entering the chambers at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. They believe the knowledge they learn on this project will benefit the entire Soo Locks Facility, including the New Lock and the Poe Lock.