2019 Boating Season Started Saturday With First Boat Run
Chicago (CBS) -- The City of Chicago kicked off the 2019 boating season with its first boat run Saturday morning, raising 27 bridges from South Ashland Avenue to Lake Shore Drive.
The bridge lift allows recreational sail boats to move along the south and main branches of the Chicago River from storage yards to harbors in Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Department of Transportation raises the movable bridges each year in the spring and fall two times a week.
During the boat runs, the bridges are raised sequentially with each lift taking an average of eight to 12 minutes. On Saturdays, the first bridge is raised around 8 a.m. The Wells Street Bridge usually is raised around 10 a.m., and the boat run reaches the lake around noon.
Spring 2019 bridge lifts are scheduled every Saturday starting at 8 a.m. and every Wednesday starting at 9:30 a.m. from now until June 29.
The scheduled boat runs may be cancelled due to inclement weather.