Traffic moves as lift bridge brought back down

Traffic is moving on and off Park Point again now that city crews have returned the Aerial Lift Bridge to its lowered position.

The bridge was stuck in the lifted position for more than two hours after an apparent lightning strike.

"A lightning strike took out traffic lights," said Ryan Beamer, Aerial Lift Bridge supervisor. "They are in our circuitry to allow the bridge to work."

The bridge was up for a vessel to pass through when the outage occurred about 5:30 p.m., he said.

Beamer doesn't think the bridge took a direct lightning hit.

"The lightning struck someplace else and took out traffic lights," he said.

Bridge staff brought the bridge down manually while drivers waited for two hours or more to cross.

City statement:

The Aerial Lift Bridge is now operating as normal. City electricians acted quickly to replace an electrical panel which allowed the Bridge to function again. The Bridge is resuming its normal lifting schedule.

Thank you to the public for their patience.