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Traffic for the life bridge going up will become much easier to predict at the end of the month. Houghton County administrator, Ben Larsen, told the county commission last night that the U.S. Coast guard recently contacted the county to inform them of the good news
“From the Cleveland office of the Coast Guard, the lift bridge will be permanent on September 29th. We will not raise the bridge unless it is 4:30 or 5, or 3:30 or 3. So if you have to go to a five o’clock baseball game, get across at 4:40, the bridge will not be going up.” – Ben Larsen, Houghton County Administrator
The request to schedule bridge lifts at specific times of the day will begin on September 29th. Larsen and the county had previously attempted to have the bridge lift schedule more controlled but had been denied a couple of years ago. But were unsuccessful at the time.
After 7 p.m. the bridge will remain in an intermediate position for most boat traffic. Vessels in need of a bridge lift will need to provide a 2-hour notice to the bridge control. Vessels over 300 feet will be passed under the bridge as quickly as possible.
According to information from MDOT provided to the U.S. Coast Guard. Traffic data recorded in the summer of 2022 shows that the Portage Lake Lift Bridge does not experience typical quote rush hour traffic. But rather steady traffic from 7 am to 7 pm, with generalized spikes around 6 am and 4 pm.
During the Coast Guard data collection, it was found that recreational vessels requested lifts 55 times in the test period, and the Ranger III requested lifts 43 times during the summer.
Other actions taken by the Houghton County Commission included renewing the contract with the law firm Tri-County Public Defenders for the county-provided legal defense in the Houghton County court system for the accused. The commission appointed two members to the county planning commission. Michael J. Ericson will represent environmental aspects to planning decisions. While Steve Aho will represent economics for the county planning commission. Two final appointments by the Houghton County Commissioners retained incumbents for the county board of canvassers. Sharron Foy representing the republican party and Joan Antilia representing the democrat party, will continue their service with Houghton County.
