MDOT Highlights Bridge Operators In Southwest Michigan

The Michigan Department of Transportation is is shining a light on the two drawbridges it runs in Saint Joseph and Benton Harbor. The department notes that the bridges are staffed constantly from March first through December 15th, and a supervisor is on call all winter if needed. Claudia Fisher started as a bridge operator just at the Bicentennial Bridge in 1979, and is now the Blossomland Bridge Supervisor. She says that making sure the drawbridges are run properly is critical for both the economy and safety.

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Dana Rose is one of four Bicentennial Bridge operators, and says the bridges serve an important role for boaters moving between their slips and Lake Michigan.

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According to MDOT, the Blossomland Bridge carried more than 12,500 vehicles each day on M-63 over the Saint Joseph River in 2013. During that same year, more than 92 hundred vehicles crossed the I-94 Business Loop’s Bicentennial Bridge in Benton Harbor.