The Seaway’s Montreal-Lake Ontario section will open on April 1 this year, eight days after the opening of the Welland Canal to the west in Ste. Catharines, Ontario.

This will enable the International Joint Commission to move record volumes of water out of Lake Ontario in order to provide relief to lakeshore communities battered by high water levels, according to a news release from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System.

“With the COVID-19 outbreak, we are living in exceptional times. We witnessed a tremendous response by our employees and members of the broader marine community in overcoming a range of obstacles to ensure that the Seaway can open,” Terence Bowles, president and CEO of the SLSMC said in a prepared statement.

“The St. Lawrence Seaway provides an essential transportation service that literally feeds nations around the world, including Canada and the U.S., and supplies the inputs which keep many of our industries operating. We will strive to do our part during this difficult period. We are implementing recommended preventive measures to protect the health of our employees, including working from home where possible,” Bowles said.

Craig H. Middlebrook, deputy administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in a prepared statement said, “Every navigation season brings opportunities and challenges and the 2020 season will be no different. While the opportunities and challenges change each year, what remains constant are the safety, reliability, efficiency and environmental performance advantages of waterborne transportation. The Seaway Corporations continue working every day to ensure that these advantages are realized as fully as possible in our binational waterway.”