The documentary film produced by the Michigan Department of Transportation, “Keweenaw Crossing: Michigan’s Elevator Bridge,” details the history and the engineering challenges of building one of the world’s heaviest and widest double-deck vertical-lift spans – the Portage Lake Lift.
The massive double-decked Portage Lake Lift Bridge serves as the sole link between the (northern half of the) Keweenaw Peninsula and the mainland.
- A documentary film detailing the bridge’s late 1950s construction has been digitized and is now online at link above.
- John Michels, 88, a retired Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) engineer, was one of the project engineers on the original construction job and remembers it well.
Ron Beauchamp ’87
Great find, Ron! Really shows the hard work that went into it with some amazing shots of Houghton/Hancock in the 1950s. Thanks for sharing! -SB