SwtM - Lake Lift Bridge Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

The Mitten Crew: [maroon]It's time to close down the fourth year of the [b]Smitten with the Mitten[/b] series.

Thanks to [b]The Mitten Crew[/b] (Climb Guy, bigcatcog, fitfinders, MI Barrel Makers, and bretina) who paid for the p@thtags/stamps/supplies and placed the caches in order to make this series possible.

We hope you enjoyed the series.[/maroon]

More
Hidden : 5/10/2013
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:



The Portage Lake Lift Bridge (officially the Houghton–Hancock Bridge) connects the cities of Hancock and Houghton across Portage Lake, a portion of the waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula with a canal linking the final several miles to Lake Superior to the northwest.

The original bridge on this site was a wooden swing-bridge built in 1875. This was replaced by a steel swing-bridge built in 1901. This bridge was damaged when a ship collided with it in 1905. The center swinging section of the bridge was replaced and a similar incident almost occurred again in 1920, but the ship was able to stop by dropping its anchor, which snagged on the bottom of the lake. In 1959, this bridge was replaced, at a cost of about 11-13 million US dollars, by the current bridge.

As its name states, the bridge is a lift bridge with the middle section capable of being lifted from its low point of four feet clearance over the water to a clearance of 100 feet to allow boats to pass underneath. The Bridge is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical lift bridge. More than 35,000 tons of concrete and 7,000 tons of steel went into the bridge, which replaced the narrow 54-year old swing bridge, declared a menace to navigation on the busy Keweenaw Waterway. Its center span "lifts" to provide 100 feet of clearance for ships. The bridge is a crucial lifeline, since it is the only land based link between the north (so-called Copper Island) and south sections of the Keweenaw peninsula.

The lower deck of the bridge was originally open to rail traffic, but this level is now a road and it is raised up to road level in the summer for cars. This is done so that smaller boats may pass below without needing to disrupt car traffic. It is lowered in the winter, when ice prevents boats, so that snowmobile traffic can enter under the roadway. Hancock and Houghton hold an annual celebration called Bridgefest to commemorate the opening of the bridge which united their two communities.

Visit 14 geocaches in the SwtM series. At each geocache collect a letter and number combination. Insert them into the phrase FiTS LIKe A GlOVE. Use the coordinates from the phrase to find the final geocache and become a Mitten Master
2013 Smitten with the Mitten caches
Whites Covered Bridge St. Joseph River Bridge Sixth Street Bridge Frankenmuth Covered Bridge
Mackinac Bridge Langley Covered Bridge Lake Lift Bridge International Bridge
Fallasburg Covered Bridge Croswell Swinging Bridge Ambassador Bridge  
Ada Covered Bridge Ackley Covered Bridge Blue Water Bridge Mitten Master

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Lbh qb abg arrq gb tb ba gb cevingr cebcregl. Ybbx ybj.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


Attributes

No attributes available

Advertising with Us