The Changing Role of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge

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Bob Berg / Lake Superior Magazine

Portage Lake Lift Bridge

The sunrise bathes the Portage Lake Lift Bridge in a morning glow. The bridge links Houghton and Hancock and has two traffic decks when lowered.

An impressive sight from either Hancock or Houghton, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge over the Keweenaw Waterway often reflects its image on the water below. If the morning sun hits it just right, it seems to glow.

The double-deck bridge is a landmark. Locals use it to get to work, school, to friends or shopping. It serves up to 25,000 cars a day on U.S. 41. That’s twice the traffic of the Mackinac Bridge, says Andy Sikkema of the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The Portage Lake Lift Bridge does more than cross a canal. It ties the two cities together, making them seem like one town, says Houghton City Manager Scott MacInnes. “It’s something that a lot of those who lived here will always remember.”

“About 22,000 people live on Copper Island, with only one bridge,” says Hancock City Manager Glenn Anderson, referring to the portion of the Keweenaw Peninsula north of the bridge. To Glenn, the bridge is “absolutely of critical importance to those of us who live on the north side of Portage Lake.”

The bridge was built as a two-level vertical lift bridge, with cars on the upper portion and trains using the lower deck. It opened in late 1959, but wasn’t fully completed until early 1960. Its role has changed over the years. The last train crossed it in 1982.

Today, most traffic on the water is recreational rather than commercial.

Big freighters do pass under, but rarely – three or four a year. That number has slowly declined over the years, says Bob “Butch” Paavola, lead bridge operator. Times were busier in the past. The first three days of November 1961, 22 bulk carriers went through the lift bridge.

The largest vessel that regularly causes the bridge to rise is the Houghton-based Ranger III, taking passengers and supplies to Isle Royale National Park twice a week. The vessel is owned by the National Park Service.

Butch, 25 years as operator, describes the lift bridge simply. “It’s a way to get from point A to point B. It can be a pain sometimes.” The pain comes if you’re headed for an appointment and the bridge goes up. The wait ranges from four to seven minutes. (The bridge opens 450 to 500 times during the year.)

Although trains no longer use the bridge, having two levels available for traffic still comes in handy. Nine months of the year, cars drive on the lower deck; in winter, the bridge is lowered and the lower deck is open for snowmobiles while cars use the upper level. Two years ago, on a late-winter weekend, 2,000 snowmobiles were counted.