1st Chicago bridge lifts, boat run take place this weekend
Boats travel along Chicago River to Lake Michigan
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Some more of the first signs of spring can be seen Saturday in Chicago: The first boat runs will take place.
There will be 27 bridges between Ashland Avenue and Lake Shore Drive raised, typically one at a time.
These boat runs allow owners to move their boats from storage into Lake Michigan harbors.
The runs take place on a bi-weekly schedule on Saturdays and Wednesdays until June 30.
RELATED: Chicago road closures in place, bridges still raised downtown
Chicago's harbors will open officially on May 1.
The Chicago Department of Transportation has completed testing each bridge and will lift the movable bridges over the south and main branches of the Chicago River.
Each bridge lift takes an average of eight to 12 minutes. Because of construction work on the Lake Shore Drive Bridge, the lift could take up to 45 minutes, CDOT said.
The first bridge is raised at about 8 a.m. on Saturdays and about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. It typically takes about four hours for the boats to reach the lake.
