Getting a lift

Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth on permit authorized by Congress. The Duluth Ship Canal and grounds are under the jurisdiction of the Lake Superior Area office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A total clearance of 138 feet is attained when the span is completely up. The length of the span is 386 feet. The distance from the water to the lower edge of the truss is 172 feet, seven inches, and to the top of the truss is 227 feet.

More than 100,000 rivets and 700 tons of steel were used in construction, and the bridge weighs about 900 tons.

Bridge operation is primarily by electric power derived from storage batteries. The batteries are charged by motor generators on current from power lines. In the event the power line should fail, the generator can be driven by a diesel engine.

Normally, the bridge goes to full height under electric power in 55 seconds, or with the diesel engine in one minute and 35 seconds. A gravity balance of about 17 tons is provided to control the operation of the span in all kinds of weather.

During the shipping season, the bridge makes an average of about 30 lifts a day to accommodate vessel traffic.

Boat calls to open the bridge are one long, one short and one long, one short. Vessels entering from the lake have priority over those leaving the harbor.

This quarterly magazine is prepared by Fortner WordWorks of Duluth and printed by Service Printers of Duluth.

Commissioners
Bill Kron, Duluth, president
Steve Raukar, Hibbing, vice president
Janet E. Nelson, Duluth, secretary
Thomas Cashman, Mankato, assistant treasurer
Thomas A. Clure, Duluth
Cal Larson, Fergus Falls
Ray Klosowski, Duluth

Administration
Executive director: Adolph N. Ojard
Port promotion manager: Lisa Marciniak
Executive assistant: Becky McMillan
Secretary: Ann Mann

Property Development
Business development director:
Andy McDonough
Facilities manager: Jim Sharrow
Foreign trade zone manager: Ray Skelton

Legal Counsel
Robert C. Maki, Maki & Overom, Duluth

Finance
Chief financial officer: John A. Kubow
Accountant: Adrienne M. Sobczak
Accounting technician: Shellie Golden

Maritime Commerce
Trade development director: Ronald L. Johnson
Environmental and government
affairs director: Ray Skelton

Public Marine Terminal
Operator: Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc.
1200 Port Terminal Drive
P.O. Box 16390
Duluth, MN USA 55816-0390
Phone: (218) 727-6646
FAX: (218) 727-6649
E-mail LSW2000@aol.com
Website: www.lswci.com
President: Gary Nicholson
Warehouse coordinator: Denise M. McDougall
Foreman: Tim Rogers
Assistant foreman: Zoran Pedisic
Office assistant: Ruth A. Roberts
Office clerk: Brian Granholm

On the front and back:

The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, which turns 100 this year, was patterned after a suspended-car transfer bridge at Rouen, France. See Page 7 for `Spanning a century,' the story of the Twin Ports' famed icon.

Photos by Jerry Bielicki