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With the closing of winter, the beloved lift bridge connecting Houghton and Hancock will have maintenance performed to open it for the shipping season.
“With the lift bridge, the first thing, the biggest thing for us is the operators- we get the operators on the beginning of April. They come in, they do a bunch of cleaning and set up in the bridge house in the towers, do some greasing, make sure everything is ready to go. As soon as we can, we get the snowmobile trail removed from the deck and into the intermediate position, which it’s in now. And then as soon as we can, we get the crew out and do the pre-season washing of the bridge- getting off the road sand and salt that’s on there from the winter.” – Transportation Maintenence Supervisor for Houghton Garage and Portage Lake Lift Bridge, Tom Deschaine
The closing of a lane makes for tight areas for drivers, so it’s important to keep safety in mind. He asks those who are driving to watch their speed and to be aware.
The lift bridge has 20 hour coverage, seven days a week. Four operators are on a schedule from 4a.m-12a.m Sunday to Wednesday. There are another set of operators on a schedule with the same hours from Wednesday to Saturday.
