The Duluth aerial lift bridge is located across the canal that is the main entry to the Duluth harbor from Lake Superior.it is a major landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota
The design of this bridge was the winner design from John Alexander Low Waddell who drew up plans for vertically lift bridge. when Duluth residents dug through the narrow slit of land known as Minnesota Point to create a harbor at the head of the Great Lakes
As suitable as the shipping canal was for the city, it left citizens on the Point cut off from the mainland. In 1892 Duluth held a competition for a bridge design that would enable residents to cross without interrupting traffic in the shipping lane. The winning design came from John Alexander Low Waddell who drew up plans for a high-rise vertical lift bridge which was the first of this type
But the Duluth project was cancelled before construction began and Waddell’s design was later built in Chicago. In 1905 Duluth finally built its bridge. When it was completed in 1905, the Aerial Bridge's gondola had a capacity of 60 short tons and could carry 350 people plus wagons, streetcars, or automobiles
The bridge can be raised to its full height in almost 3 minutes, and goes up 25 to 30 times daily during busy shipping season. The span is about 390 feet(120 m). As ships pass, there is a customary horn-blowing sequence which is copied back. Long-short-long-short means to raise the bridge, and Long-short-short is a friendly salute. Its language between the bridge and the coming ship
