Portage Lake Lift Bridge

Completed in 1960 by American Bridge, the Portage Lake Lift Bridge project consisted of constructing a double-deck, vertical-lift rail and highway bridge, with a single-track railroad on the lower deck and a four-lane roadway on the upper deck. The bridge carries US 41 and M-26 from Houghton, Michigan, to Hancock, Michigan. The railroad deck was designed to accommodate highway traffic when raised to the intermediate highway level, allowing small- and medium-sized watercraft to pass underneath. In 1982, railroad service was discontinued, and the lower deck now accommodates highway traffic for nine months of the year and snowmobiles for three months. The overall length of the bridge is 1,310 feet, with a lift span of 268 feet, supported by twin steel towers 180 feet tall. The middle section of the bridge has a four-foot clearance when fully lowered, a 32-36 foot clearance at the intermediate position, and 100 feet when fully raised.