Transportation
Sault Ste. Marie is located on the northern end of Interstate 75 (I-75) which connects with the Mackinac Bridge (click here for toll rates) at St. Ignace 52 miles to the south, and continues to Miami, Florida and also connects with the International Bridge - (click here for toll rates) 1 mile to the north, and continues into Ontario Canada. Sault Ste. Marie is strategically located at the nexus of rail, highway, air, and water transportation systems. Sault Ste. Marie enjoys convenient all-season east and west truck access along US 2, M-28, and M-129 and north and south truck access along Interstate 75 and connects at the International Bridge crossing into Ontario Canada.
WATER
Port of Entry - Port of Sault Ste. Marie is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week operation. The Port of Sault Ste. Marie is a deep water sea port that can accommodate domestic vessels and international salt water vessels. The Port of Sault Ste. Marie is a port of entry to accept entries of merchandise to collect duties, and to enforce the various provisions of the customs and navigation laws (19 CFR 101.1).
Contact Sault EDC (906) 635-9131 or Harbor Master John Wellington (906) 632-8801 for additional information.
Soo Locks. The Soo Locks is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Locks operate 9 months out of the year and are closed for annual maintenance work and due to sever weather conditions from approximately January 15th to March 25th. The Poe Lock was built in 1968 and the MacArthur Lock was built in 1943. These two locks are still in use today. The MacArthur Lock will handle vessels up to 800 feet long, 80 feet wide and 31 feet deep. The Poe Lock is the larger of the two locks and holds the big 1,000 foot Lakers and Salties. The Poe Lock is 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 32 feet deep.
The Davis Lock was built in 1918 and the Sabin Lock was built in 1919. Both of these locks are too shallow to hold the freighters traversing the waters today. A new and even bigger lock is planned which would take up the space now used by the Davis and the Sabin, but funding has not yet been made available.
Cargo carried by some of the vessels might include: iron ore, limestone, coal, grain, cement, salt or sand. The period of operation and total passages of all vessels for each lock during the 2010 season are as follows: MacArthur Lock -257 days in operation and 5,685 total passages; Poe Lock – 305 days in operation and 4,322 total passages.
The following is a monthly statement of freight tonnage moved through the St. Marys Falls Canal for the past two seasons:
| Month | 2009 Net | 2010 Net |
| Tons | Tons | |
| March | 78,900 | 1,247,118 |
| April | 4,268,711 | 7,075,675 |
| May | 5,624,019 | 8,360,539 |
| June | 5,731,472 | 8,134,045 |
| July | 5,885,323 | 8,909,371 |
| August | 5,989,718 | 8,582,379 |
| September | 5,579,574 | 8,049,370 |
| October | 6,673,940 | 7,587,430 |
| November | 6,495,265 | 7,427,129 |
| December | 5,465,138 | 6,505,638 |
| January | 1,559,196 | 2,648,442 |
Check out what is happening right now at the Locks with the Soo Locks Live Web Cam
Sugar Island Ferry – (906) 635-5421, $8.00 car round-trip. The ferry runs year-round and makes two round-trips an hour. The Sugar Island ll leaves the mainland on the quarter hour and leaves the island on the hour and half-hour. It’s larger that the old ferry, and better suited to withstand icy conditions.
AIR
Sanderson Field Municipal Airport is Sault Ste. Marie’s local municipal general aviation airport that is located in the heart of Sault Ste. Marie just minutes from local attractions, manufactures, and Lake Superior State University. Sanderson Field Municipal Airport provides US Customs Services, conference room, aircraft rental, flight school, and other services as needed to service corporate and general aviation aircraft.
Chippewa County International Airport provides valuable commercial passenger service, approximately 21 miles from Sault Ste. Marie, south off of Interstate 75 (I-75). Chippewa County International Airport provides US Customs Services, conference rooms, individual work stations, large comfortable lobby with a vending area.
Just across the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada is the Sault Ste. Marie Airport approximately 14 miles north into Ontario Canada. The Sault Ste. Marie Airport provides a vital link to passengers and businesses in Northern Ontario. Sault Ste. Marie Airport also provides commercial passenger service and general aviation services.
RAIL
Canadian National Railway (CN). The Soo Line Railroad (SOO) has since, through a series of acquisitions and mergers of portions of the system, been split between Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway (CN), with CN operating the rail lines and the bridge in the Sault Ste. Marie area. Currently CN does not offer passenger rail services in our area.
Customers located in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Upper Peninsula of Michigan contact 1-800-822-6440 (Steve Point, Wisconsin)
BUS
Indian Trails . Indian Trails operates one of the largest and newest fleets of deluxe motor coaches in Michigan. Each is a 2005 or newer model ranging from 29 to 56 passenger capacity. Indian Trails bus services include charters, tours shuttles, airport transfers, casino runs, and daily scheduled routes throughout Michigan and into Chicago as well as Milwaukee. In 2010, Indian Trails logged 4.2 million miles, carrying more than 1,000,000 passengers.