Superior lock project nixed by Army Corps

MILWAUKEE, April 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will not be building a boat lock on Lake Superior using federal funds.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Tuesday while the construction plan in Michigan's Upper Peninsula had been considered a forgone conclusion by some, the Army Corps decided not to use federal stimulus funds to a backup boat lock on Lake Superior's eastern edge.

Lake Carriers' Association spokesman Glen Nekvasil expressed shock at the Army Corps' rejection of the plan to build the lock, which would help 1,000-foot-long freighters gain access to the lake.

"Everybody is in shock here," Nekvasil said. "It was a jobs creator. It would have used American workers. It would have used American goods, and it would have guaranteed the redundancy we need."

But Steve Ellis, vice president of the non-profit Taxpayers for Common Sense, applauded the Army Corps' decision.

"Here was a project that has very little economic justification," Ellis told the Journal Sentinel.

"If you're going to put thought into the projects you fund, then this project falls out," he added.