I know atv's need a police escort over the lift bridge, I'll be up there with a group of 5 starting next weekend. What are the times during the day that the police will escort atv's across the bridge? Thank u!
9:15am, 2:15pm, 7:15pm times are not guaranteed as police work comes first. Call ahead and make arrangements even a day or two ahead. Houghton 906-482-2121, Hancock 906-482-3102. Please be patient and be sure to thank your escort
My experience is, on a the weekend anyways, Houghton police are pretty good about being there to take you across, Hancock police, not so much. So we just drove across at the posted speed limit.
My experience is, on a the weekend anyways, Houghton police are pretty good about being there to take you across, Hancock police, not so much. So we just drove across at the posted speed limit.
My experience is, on a the weekend anyways, Houghton police are pretty good about being there to take you across, Hancock police, not so much. So we just drove across at the posted speed limit.
We'll be crossing for the first time on Monday.......I don't know if I wanna risk just driving across.....i'm about taking risks at times but I imagine it would be a pretty big fine? But I'm sure I'd think long and hard about it LOL
My experience is, on a the weekend anyways, Houghton police are pretty good about being there to take you across, Hancock police, not so much. So we just drove across at the posted speed limit.
Originally Posted by nc666
x2 I never call I just drive across
Driving across without an escort will lose the privilege for everyone! It took a lot of effort to get permission to cross at all.
Phoenix, AZ (Displaced Yooper with family connections in Houghton, Ontonagon & Marquette counties.)
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Originally Posted by snobuilder
How would that be good for Pure MI tourism?
How about they "train" and deputize a local taxi or uber/lift[sic] driver with a working set of emergency flashers to be an "escort" @ $5.00 a head?
Now that sounds like an idea.
Well lookie there, UBER has indeed come to da UP — I din't know dat. (I dunno 'bout LYFT.): UBER in da UP.JPG
(UBER Service area in da UP and the Northern Lower Peninsula)
Fare estimate from MTU to the Houghton County Airport (UberX)
$14.06
PICK UP
Base Fare
$1.50
Long Pickup Fee
Variable
Per Minute to Pickup
$0.18
Per Mile to Pickup
$0.96
ON TRIP
Booking Fee
$1.90
Minimum Fare
$4.40
Per Minute
$0.18
Per Mile
$0.96
Hmmm, from the map they serve Isle Royale too? That'll be a trick! (Maybe with a canoe?)
The City of Houghton Police Department will give four-wheeler escorts across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. Please call from the intersection of Trail #3 and the Canal Road. The telephone number for the office is 906-482-2121. Officers will ask you to sign a waiver prior to doing the escort. The officers will open the gate and allow you to go through the RV Park. You will be directed to keep your speed under 15 miles per hour and proceed under the bridge to the intersection of Quincy and Shelden Avenue. Officers will activate the overhead lights and block off the north/right lane of Shelden Avenue and allow the four wheelers to enter the road and then fall in behind the four wheelers. You will be escorted across the bridge into Ripley where you can turn right into the Houghton County Marina ending the escort. For larger groups of four wheelers, officers may ask for assistance from the Hancock Police Department.
ATV Escort Times
Officers will provide ATV escorts seven days a week, provided they are free, at the following times:
Phoenix, AZ (Displaced Yooper with family connections in Houghton, Ontonagon & Marquette counties.)
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Originally Posted by goingnorth
ATV Escorts across Portage Lake Lift Bridge …
That has to be the clearest, most lucid description I’ve heard of the ATV escort rules, procedure and routing!
Note that leaving the RV park you’ll be taking W. Lakeshore Drive, past Chutes & Ladders on the canal-side segment of W. Lakeshore Drive to Quincy St. at which time the PD will block off the curb lane of Shelden Ave. and manage the other traffic to give you or your caravan exclusive access up Quincy St. to Shelden Ave. then through that crazy traffic pretzel at the south end of the bridge and across.
(Maybe they should lower the bridge for ya instead and let you cross on the lower level like you do with yer sleds? Yeah, that would work — and piss off the commuter traffic waiting for the bridge even worse than the above scheme! )
This thread makes me laugh. All winter we bash (ney destroy!) people who don't follow rules and in this thread its: "just run it." Then the city lays out pretty clear rules and, as insane as they are, they try to work with the atver's.
We only did it once without an escort, BECAUSE THE HANCOCK POLICE DEPARTMENT NEVER ANSWERED THE PHONE, AND NO OFFICER SHOWED UP AT THE DESIGNATED TIME! Capiche?
This thread makes me laugh. All winter we bash (ney destroy!) people who don't follow rules and in this thread its: "just run it." Then the city lays out pretty clear rules and, as insane as they are, they try to work with the atver's.
What is the ATV route like up there? Is it real similar to snowmobiling?
I know that when snowmobiling it would be real annoying to face this same problem.
Some realistic new thinking needs to be explored in situations of integrated vehicle use like this.
The ppl driving these ORV's were perfectly capable of navigating their entire fleet and families 100's of miles to the north to do what they enjoy while supporting a thriving tourism industry, yet it is considered a huge problem if they need to navigate perfectly fine paved streets for a few hundred yards to continue the ORV experience on the other side.
Last edited by snobuilder; 06-12-2019 at 08:39 PM.
Its considerably more than a few hundreds yards, approx. 1.4 miles, 4 lanes of traffic, no shoulders, heavy traffic. Daily traffic 10,001-20,000 vehicles daily (source MDOT 2017 annual traffic volumes map).
same question as always..what is the draw to that place..why not ride above stay above..or ride below stay below..same with sleds..why would u subject yourself to cops, dnr, hassles and harassment..its not like they got the best strip joint in town or sumptin..
Phoenix, AZ (Displaced Yooper with family connections in Houghton, Ontonagon & Marquette counties.)
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Originally Posted by eao
Its considerably more than a few hundreds yards, approx. 1.4 miles, 4 lanes of traffic, no shoulders, heavy traffic. Daily traffic 10,001-20,000 vehicles daily (source MDOT 2017 annual traffic volumes map) …
Just one problem: Your map DOES NOT show the ATV route so clearly described by goingnorth!
Lest anyone find that misleading, the ATV Route is shown below: ATV Route start.JPG
(Click thumbnail for larger image)
Begin at the intersection of the Bill Nicholls Trail and the Houghton Canal Road.
ATV Route barrier.JPG
(Click thumbnail for larger image)
Note the traffic barrier at the entry to the RV Park.
The officers will open the gate and allow you to go through the RV Park.
ATV Route continues along W Lakeshore Drive and undr the bridge to Quincy St..JPG
(Click thumbnail for larger image)
Continue along W. Lakeshore Drive and under the bridge to the back of the Ambassador at Quincy St. where "Officers will activate the overhead lights and block off the north/right lane of Shelden Avenue and allow the four wheelers to enter the road and then fall in behind the four wheelers."
When the PD has done their thing, proceed up Quincy Street, and along the right lane of Shelden Avenue then through that crazy traffic pretzel at the south end of the bridge and across, as directed by the PD.
Your "guided tour" will turn right onto M-26 at the north end of the bridge and proceed east to terminate across from The Miners State Bank, at Lake Front Road, with direct access to the Hancock-Lake Linden Trail.
(Mileage: ≈1.05 miles from the gate at the RV park to the "traffic pretzel" at the south end of the bridge, and ≈1.5 miles in all.)
The route you high lite is the route the police will take you on but those that chance it without the police run down canal road to M-26 and drive the same route as traffic does to the bridge and across. Personally seen that several times although not yet this year.
I wonder, do they have traffic cameras on the bridge yet? Seems reasonable to assume they might. I heard mention of it some time ago to monitor signs of vandalism or persons trespassing on the bridge to do some harm etc. Especially after they caught those Eco-terrorists trying to set an explosive device (chemical bomb) at the USFS field station on the MTU campus.
Phoenix, AZ (Displaced Yooper with family connections in Houghton, Ontonagon & Marquette counties.)
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Originally Posted by eao
… I wonder, do they have traffic cameras on the bridge yet? …
There are at least eight cameras on the bridge.
See this article from the Daily Mining Gazette, June 11, 2014:
(click →) "Eyes (almost) in the sky", quoted here in part:
"There are four cameras mounted at various locations on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, and it’s expected four more will be going up soon.
"… the cameras are being installed for security purposes, and they will aid the bridge operators, who have some blind spots from their location on the north support posts.
"Within the next six months, … the remainder of the eight cameras will be mounted on the bridge."
And there are — and have been for a several years — a number of security cameras in "beautiful downtown Burbank, er … Houghton", and elsewhere in the city.
See this article from the Daily Mining Gazette, Mar 31, 2018
(click →) "Council discusses police staffing", quoted here in part (emphasis is mine):
"The city also budgeted $18,500 for replacing aging security cameras. A new camera may also be installed on M-26 and Sharon Avenue, due to the frequency of accidents at the intersection.
" 'We have cameras throughout the area,' Donnelly said. 'We don’t want to wait 10 years until all the cameras are old and dysfunctional.' "
What the heck is negative about not wanting someone to get hurt or get into an accident with someone ignoring the laws. I witnessed someone on a ATV get hit by a truck when they crossed a state hwy. Luckily he survived (broken collarbone) but the driver that hit him was worried sick over the whole incident, according to the victims wife who called me to let me know of his condition. At the scene I recall the victim saying several times, I thought I could make it. He was lucky to land in a ditch full of water and mud and not on the pavement.
What if you only need to get to Roy's for a Pasty?
I hit Roy's for a turnover and pasty every time up. Sorry, Krupps I like my Pasty's at end of the day when I am about ready to fall off the sled.
I thought I would give an update as we went across the bridge into Hancock on Monday and back across to Houghton on Wednesday last week. Houghton police were very accommodating and were there in no time after I called them. The officer was awesome! Wednesday I called Hancock at 8am......no answer. Tried twice within a 1/2 hour after that first call....no answer. When I called, I was in Calumet. So I called Houghton police and explained. They told me to call 911 when I got to the Ramada parking lot. So when I got to the Ramada, I called the Hancock police on the regular line. Someone answered. We had the officer there within 5 minutes. As we crossed the bridge the Hancock officer radio'd ahead to Houghton to tell them we needed the gate opened to the trail at Canal Road and Trail #3. We didn't wait but 2 minutes for the Houghton officer to show up. Thanks to both departments! All officers were funny and very accommodating. Everything went seamless! Great trip as we put on 800 miles on our side by sides last week in the U.P. and northern Wisconsin.
I thought I would give an update as we went across the bridge into Hancock on Monday and back across to Houghton on Wednesday last week. Houghton police were very accommodating and were there in no time after I called them. The officer was awesome! Wednesday I called Hancock at 8am......no answer. Tried twice within a 1/2 hour after that first call....no answer. When I called, I was in Calumet. So I called Houghton police and explained. They told me to call 911 when I got to the Ramada parking lot. So when I got to the Ramada, I called the Hancock police on the regular line. Someone answered. We had the officer there within 5 minutes. As we crossed the bridge the Hancock officer radio'd ahead to Houghton to tell them we needed the gate opened to the trail at Canal Road and Trail #3. We didn't wait but 2 minutes for the Houghton officer to show up. Thanks to both departments! All officers were funny and very accommodating. Everything went seamless! Great trip as we put on 800 miles on our side by sides last week in the U.P. and northern Wisconsin.
So a few days ago there was an article in the Daily Mining Gazette that was talking more about limiting the times a boat(s) can basically come at any time and cause a backup of traffic that can last for hours during peak times, BUT they also are addressing the idea of allowing ATV traffic on the lower part of the bridge just like snowmobiles, so keep your fingers and toes crossed.
That would be great. My wife and I were up about a month ago and called for an escort and they said we needed at least 3 units to provide an escort. Both Houghton and Hancock police told us that. So we just stayed North of the bridge for our 2 days of riding that worked out fine. Sorry Krupps and mosquito!
I've seen lots of rivers that do his. They will not open the bridge during rush traffic, morning lunch and dinner. Not a big deal really, for the recreational boater who doesn't know this they get mad, but the 600 footers that come through Green Bay they all know this and work around it.
Police escort times over the bridge
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Originally Posted by slimcake
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