Michigan's U.S. senators say more than $1.3 million is expected to go into a cost-benefit study that could lead to an additional shipping lock on the river that connects Lakes Huron and Superior.
The Detroit Free Press reports Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters announced Monday that the Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Management and Budget agreed to allocate the funding.
Only one of the four Soo Locks is large enough to handle the ships that carry 70 percent of cargo moving through the locks.
Stabenow and Peters want a new Great Lakes navigational lock that would be capable of accommodating the largest freighters.
They've said that if the system were disabled for a lengthy period, economic losses would reach $160 million in a month.