© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Great Lakes Today was created to highlight issues affecting the lakes. The main partners are WBFO (Buffalo), ideastream (Cleveland) and WXXI (Rochester).Browse more coverage here. Major funding for Great Lakes Today is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People. Additional funding comes from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

Great Lakes Shipping Season Underway

Two bulk carriers passing at the exit of Lock 1 on the Welland Canal [Jon Nicholls/Shutterstock]

The Great Lakes shipping season officially kicks off Monday with the opening of the Welland Canal, the shipping channel that connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

This is the earliest the Canal has opened – matching the March 20 th opening in 2007. But since the winter has been so mild, shipping locally has continued throughout the region.  

The Interlake Steamship Company’s Brendan O’Connor says the weather has also aided ship repairs that typically happen during the winter hiatus. “The efficiency of being able to work in more mild temperatures certainly increases the productivity and the speed at which a job gets completed.”

Great Lakes ice cover reached its peak March 13 th , with almost 20 percent ice cover in the  basin .

O’Connor says the 2017 season is already showing promise. “We’ve seen some growth in the volumes that we’ve been asked to carry for the industrial customers that we work for."

The Soo Locks – which make it possible to go from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean – open officially on Saturday.  The St. Lawrence Seaway, which maintains the Welland Canal, has  invested$90 million in infrastructure modernization, including increased bank protection and upgrades to several locks.      

  Note: A previous version misstated the opening date of the Soo Locks and the agency that manages it.