HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – St. Joseph Congressman Fred Upton spoke in Holland Monday about healthcare, the budget and the state’s infrastructure.
Upton spoke to business leaders from Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant at the Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Fresh from a visit to the Soo Locks, Upton told area business leaders that if the Poe Lock has to close for any reason, we could see unemployment nationwide double 11 percent. .
A new, large lock is needed for the Soo Locks. Most members of the U.S. House, both of the state’s U.S. senators, the governor, and several state officials toured the Soo Locks on Friday after the conclusion of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference.
“It’s been 30 years since I took my wife to visit the Soo Locks. It’s 60 years old. The pumps that they have to pump the water out are 100 years old. They don’t make parts for these anymore. We walked underneath the locks about 60 feet down with a lot of tunnels underneath it and all this wiring with a fair amount of water. If that lock went down it would take years. Years to replace it.”
Last year 10,000 commercial ships went through the locks.
Congress is being asked to to authorize the one-billion dollars needed to add another large lock,. They’re calling it the most critical infrastructure issue the state is facing.
You can hear Upton’s remarks at the luncheon online.
