Aerial Lift Bridge - Duluth, Minnesota

The Aerial Lift Bridge is one of Duluth's most famous and well known landmarks. The 115 year old vertical lift bridge spans across the Duluth Ship Canal and connects the mainland with Minnesota Point.

The Aerial Lift Ferry in 1908 (Library of Congress)

Overall, the superstructure of the bridge has remained the same from when it opened in 1905. However, the original bridge used a gondola to carry passengers, freight, wagons, and even cars over the canal. Called the Aerial Transfer Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, the gondola like car was suspended over the bridge via cables from the top truss structure. The crossing took about a minute.

Some detail of the decorative iron work on the bridge.

As the popularity of automobiles grew, the gondola ferry system of the bridge grew obsolete. In 1929, a bridge deck was built to carry automobiles and allow pedestrians to cross while the top span was lifted higher in order to allow large ships through the canal. When fully raised, the roadway span of the bridge is lifted 135 feet. The bridge span's length is 390 feet.

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and has been rehabilitated four times since 1986. The bridge is lifted on average 26 times a day.

Capturing the bridge while in operation is an amazing sight, and I was lucky to witness it in operation around sunrise on an August morning in 2006. The slow and deliberate rise of the main span, followed with the loud blows of ship horns, and the amazing size of a Lake Superior bound freighter is impressive.

All photos taken by post author - August 2006 unless otherwise noted.

Sources & Links:

Aerial Lift Bridge ---John Weeks
Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge ---GoDuluthMn.com
Historic Bridges - Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge ---Minnesota Department of Transportation

Where To Find It:

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County. The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte. The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom. Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail). La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora. The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles. The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County. Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57. California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10. Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10. The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway. Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of

Gribblenation

Search This Blog