Chicago River Bridge Lifts Mark Start Of 2015 Boating Season

April 17, 2015

27 Bridges to be Lifted From Ashland Avenue to Lake Shore Drive

Mike Claffey    312.744.0707

Michael.claffey@cityofchicago.org

The City of Chicago will begin lifting the movable bridges over the Chicago River this Saturday to allow for recreational boat traffic to make the annual trip from boat storage yards out to the wide open waters of Lake Michigan.

Each year, in the spring and fall, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) raises the movable bridges along the Main and South Branches of the Chicago River on a twice weekly schedule on Saturdays and Wednesdays to accommodate recreational boats traveling to and from their storage yards.

“The springtime lifting of Chicago’s iconic movable river bridges marks the beginning of the boating season each year and is a happy sight,” said CDOT Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld, who also serves as Chicago’s Harbor Master and has jurisdiction over the city’s waterways. “CDOT works with local boat storage yards each year to create a schedule that accommodates boats while creating the least amount of impact on downtown street traffic.”

During these “boat runs,” the bridges are raised sequentially, typically one at a time. Each bridge lift takes an average of 8-12 minutes. A total of 27 bridges will be lifted in succession from the Ashland Avenue Bridge on the South Branch to Lake Shore Drive.

The Spring 2015 bridge lift schedule is as follows:

  • Saturday, April 18th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, April 22nd at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, April 25th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, April 29th at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, May 2nd at 8 am
  • Wednesday, May 6th at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, May 9th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, May 13th at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, May 16th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, May 20th at 9:30 am
  • Wednesday, June 3rd at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, June 6th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, June 10th at 9:30 a.m.
  • Saturday, June 13th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, June 17th at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, June 20th at 8 am
  • Wednesday, June 24th at 9:30 am
  • Saturday, June 27th at 8 am

 You can follow CDOT on digital media:

Twitter: @ChicagoDOT
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CDOTNews
The web: chicagodot.org

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