Start Planning Your Beach Time, Aerial Lift Bridge Goes On Summer Schedule Friday May 22

Start planning your drive to and from Park Point! The City Of Duluth announced the Aerial Lift Bridge will be operating on it's Summer schedule starting this Friday May 22 and run through till the Tuesday after labor day.

According to the City of Duluth website and press release, from 7 am to 9 pm, 7 days a week;

The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge will open on the hour and half-hour for vessels under 300 gross tons, if needed; and the Bridge will open on signal for all vessels from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., seven days a week, and at all times for Federal, state, and local government vessels, vessels in distress, commercial vessels engaged in rescue or emergency salvage operations, commercial-assist towing vessels engaged in towing or port operations, vessels engaged in pilot duties, vessels seeking shelter from severe weather, and all commercial vessels 300 gross tons or greater.

Which means if you have a sail boat or a boat with a mast that would hit the bridge you have to wait till it opens, it will not open for you. Outside of the hours you must signal for the bridge to open.

I remember back in the day it wasn't as organized and sail boats and other vessels would back up. I seem to remember (and it could just be my memory) that sail boats and other vessels would make the bridge go up many times.

This is not only to get better coordination with the boats but to help traffic flow. Depending on how many boats there are, the bridge will stay up, causing a delay.