Skip to main content

Portage Lake Lift Bridge

Image
By

During my visit to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I had the opportunity to see the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, or the Houghton-Hancock Bridge as it is officially known. The Portage Lake Lift Bridge is the world's heaviest vertical lift bridge and carries the highways US 41 and M-26 across the bridge. The bridge connects the cities of Houghton and Hancock over the Portage Lake section of the Keweenaw Waterway, but more broadly, it is the one bridge that connects the communities of the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula with the rest of the Midwest.

Replacing a swing bridge that was built in 1905, the 1,310 foot long Portage Lake Lift Bridge opened to automobile traffic at the tail end of 1959 and was not officially completed until 1960. When the bridge was officially completed and dedicated, it was with much fanfare, but with some technical difficulties as well. While there were marching bands and jets that flew overhead during the grand opening, but telephone service was cut the day before to over 1000 customers in Hancock due to a ship having dropped anchor on underwater telephone cables a quarter mile away from the bridge the night before.

The vertical lift bridge generally works as intended with little problems, but in 1989, a wedding party  was trapped atop the lift span. A former bridge operator and his new bride decided to get married on the raised bridge, but a broken hydraulic line stranded them there for a few hours. Talk about a way to start a marriage.

The bridge design had to accommodate automobile traffic, but railroad and ship traffic also had to be considered, due to its proximity to both Lake Superior and nearby copper mines. As a result, the vertical lift design was deemed the most appropriate design for this bridge. Suspended between two towers, the entire main span of the bridge can rise vertically between them to provide 100 feet of clearance for ships. As long as the towers were built high enough, a vertical lift bridge accommodates just about any size ship that needs to pass beneath it. From the beginning, bridge planners stressed the importance on minimizing interruption of traffic flow across the bridge. That problem was solved by designing a railroad deck that could also accommodate motor vehicles. When raised to the highway level, the railroad deck allowed automobile traffic to continue across the bridge while small and medium sized boat traffic passed underneath, thus adequately addressing the traffic flow issue.

While the last train crossed the Portage Lake Lift Bridge in the summer of 1982, which officially ended over one hundred years of railroad service across the channel, the double deck design is still used in various ways. The vertical lift span sits in its intermediate level during the spring, summer and fall months, allowing small and medium boat access to either side of the bridge. As a result, automobile traffic crosses on the railroad deck. In the winter, the bridge is lowered and made accessible to snowmobiles and skiers, while automobiles cross on the upper deck. This is great for the snowmobile riders and cross country skiers, especially considering the heavy lake effect snow that the Keweenaw Peninsula receives each winter. Big freighters do pass under the bridge, but rarely do they three or four a year. That number has slowly declined over the years, considering that during the first three days of November 1961, 22 bulk carriers went through the lift bridge.

Today, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge is a centerpiece between the two communities of Houghton and Hancock, as well as the Keweenaw Peninsula at large. With the downtowns of the two cities being so close, the bridge is a lifeline for the people who live, work and visit the area. I think that it makes for a nice scenic view of the Keweenaw Waterway and I look forward to the opportunity to cross that bridge again someday.

Driving across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge north into Hancock.

The intermediate deck has a 14 foot clearance for motor vehicles.

A view of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge from Houghton.

Sources and Links:
Michigan Tech - Lift Bridge - Streaming Webcam
Michigan Department of Transportation - US-41 / Portage Lake
Bridgehunter - Houghton-Hancock Bridge
City of Hancock - Portage Lake Bridge History
Lost in Michigan - Houghton Hancock Lift Bridge
Lake Superior Magazine - The Changing Role of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge


How to Get There:
Labels:
Location: Portage Canal Lift Bridge, Michigan, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

By
A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40.    The Centra...
Post a Comment
Read more