关键词: |
great lakes,marine transportation,saint lawrence seaway/economic analysis, geography, navigation, commerce, industries, freight transportation, global aspects, seaways, canada, united states/ |
摘要: |
Geography has provided a natural highway reaching into the heart of North America. As a result, the waters of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes were used from earliest times to open up the region to commerce and settlement. Eventually, the areas around the waterway evolved into the continents industrial heartland. Not surprisingly, human action sought to enhance what nature provided. Soon after European settlers arrived, the first efforts were made to bypass rapids, install locks and deepen channels. This work persisted for almost 200 years and culminated in the mid twentieth century with the completion of a waterway that could take ocean-going vessels through the St. Lawrence, around Niagara Falls and across the upper Great Lakes to the furthest shores of Lake Superior--a distance of some 3,700 kilometres or 2,300 miles. That was more than half a century ago. With the passage of time, the original economic factors that drove the creation of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway (GLSLS) system underwent significant change. Moreover, the infrastructure itself began to show the inevitable effects of wear and aging. The Study itself was carried out by subject-matter experts organized into three working groups. The Economic Working Group was tasked with investigating the current and possible future role of the GLSLS in both regional and global commercial and transportation networks. The Environmental Working Group examined the impact of navigation and its operations within the larger context of ecological conditions in the Great Lakes basin and St. Lawrence River. Finally, the Engineering Working Group examined the current physical condition of lock system infrastructure, evaluated its reliability and developed options for its future maintenance. / NOTE: Final rept. / Supplementary Notes: See also PB2005-103640, PB2005-103639, and French version, PB2008-105318. / Availability Note: Order this product from NTIS by: phone at 1-800-553-NTIS (U.S. customers); (703)605-6000 (other countries); fax at (703)605-6900; and email at orders@ntis.gov. NTIS is located at 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA, 22161, USA. |