Select 2018 Great Lakes Navigation Fast Facts Reports from the USACE Digital Library collections:

Select a National ReportNational Report and Data ExportNational ReportNational Data Export

Select a USACE ProjectAll USACE Project ReportsAlpena, MIAshtabula, OHBayfield, WIBuffalo, NYBurns Waterway Harbor, INCalcite, MICharlevoix, MICheboygan, MIChicago, ILCleveland, OHConneaut, OHDetroit, MIDetroit Harbor, MIDetroit Harbor, WIDrummond Island, MIDuluth-Superior, MN and WIEcorse, MIErie, PAEscanaba, MIFairport Harbor, OHGladstone, MIHolland, MIHuron, OHIndiana Harbor, INLa Pointe, WILorain, OHLudington, MIMackinac, MIManistee, MIManistique, MIManitowoc, WIMarine City, MIMarquette, MIMarysville, MIMenominee, MI and WIMilwaukee, WIMonroe, MIMuskegon, MIOgdensburg, NYOswego, NYPort Clinton, OHPort Huron, MIPresque Isle, MIPut-In-Bay, OHRochester, NYRogers City, MIRouge River, MISandusky, OHSault Ste Marie, MISt. Clair, MISt. James, MIStoneport, MITaconite, MNToledo, OHTrenton, MITwo Harbors, MNWaukegan, IL

Select a USACE DivisionAll USACE Division ReportsGreat Lakes & Ohio River

Select a USACE DistrictAll USACE District ReportsBuffalo DistrictChicago DistrictDetroit District

You can select an individual report, or go to a collection of reports. For a list of all reports in a collection, for example, in the project report collection, select "All Project Reports". 

How these numbers were calculated.

For the purposes of the Value to the Nation effort, navigation infrastructure has been subdivided into three primary categories: Inland, Coastal, and Great Lakes. Great Lakes navigation refers to the continuous 27-foot deep draft waterway that extends from the western end of Lake Superior at Duluth, MN to the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the Atlantic Ocean; a distance of over 2,400 miles. The Great Lakes are technically part of the Coastal Navigation system, but are often separated for purposes of analysis since the two systems tend to operate differently. The Great Lakes Navigation System is a bi-national resource composed of the five Great Lakes, the connecting channels of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The U.S. portion of the system includes 140 harbors (60 commercial; 80 recreational), 2 operational locks, 104 miles of breakwaters and jetties, and over 600 miles of maintained navigation channels. In addition, the Great Lakes navigation system is connected to several other shallow draft waterways (Illinois Waterway, New York State Barge Canal, etc.) to form an important waterborne transportation network, reaching deep into the continent.

The primary National Economic Development (NED) benefit of USACE Great Lakes navigation infrastructure is the reduction in the cost required to transport commodities compared to the next best alternative (rail transportation).