The Soo Locks
With the encounter group Lakers and some ideas I have been working on, I need to wonder about the state of the Soo Locks after 150 years. The area is reasonably far from bomb impacts and the actual operation of the locks is pretty basic. The entire area is owned, operated, and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. They have their own power from a hydroelectric plant north of the Sabin lock, so assuming they can repair after and EMP, the locks should be able to operate normally for a period if they can continue to get supplies to maintain them. The MacArthur and Poe locks are the most used by commercial traffic.
The main areas I have concerns about are the large metal door and their alignment and the degradation of the concrete that makes the walls and floor of the lock, especially around the openings on the floor that allows the water in and out of the lock. Would the continuing operation of at least one of the operational locks be a high enough of a priority to have concrete produced and continued training of engineers take away from food production? The hydroelectric plant does produce about 170 KW of power, so there is that to consider.
|