Sen. Peters talks about Soo Locks construction on his annual motorcycle trip

SAULT STE. MARIE — Sen. Gary Peters visited the Soo Locks on the second day of his annual motorcycle trip across Michigan.

Each year, Peters rides hundreds of miles. This trip took him from Kalamazoo on Wednesday to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, with stops in Wyoming and Traverse City, before he heads to Sanford on Friday. He was joined along the way by veterans, union workers, motorcycle safety advocates and constituents.

Peters helped secure $450 million for the Soo Locks construction project in the 2025 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act. If passed into law, the funding should allow the Army Corps of Engineers to to start construction on phase three.

“This is clearly a national economic security issue. It’s why we need the redundancies in the locks and why we need to make sure these locks are able to operate efficiently – and know that the country is relying on them doing that,” said Peters.

The $3 billion locks project is expected to finish in 2030.