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Portage Lake Lift Bridge closures set for next week

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Contractors for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will continue work requiring early morning closures of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock next week.

There will be multiple early morning closures between Tuesday, April 26, and Friday, April 29. The closures will occur between 12:15 and 5:15 a.m. each day. No more than four closures are planned for any one morning. Closures will range from 25 to 40 minutes each. Traffic will be allowed to clear between full closures.

These closures will result in delays for vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic. If you plan to travel across the bridge during these periods, please allow extra time to complete your trip.

Closures of the inside northbound and southbound lanes on the bridge may also be necessary some nights. Any bridge lane closures will be removed by 5:15 a.m. each morning.

This work is weather dependent; the schedule is tentative and may be adjusted. 

The closures will allow the installation of lower buffers and the removal of the old lift motors, which were unable to be removed last week because of high winds. This work is part of the ongoing repair project to help ensure continued safe and reliable operation of the bridge. 

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