Duane Hicks
There’s good news for boaters who have had trouble getting under the Canadian National Railway lift bridge at Ranier—the bridge will be manned 24 hours a day from May 1-Oct. 15.
A U.S. Coast Guard regulation received federal approval last week, which will ensure that CN man the bridge, which currently is operated remotely, during that period.
From Oct. 16-April 30 each year, the bridge would open for vessels if 12 hours’ advance notice is provided.
Additionally, the regulation requires the bridge owner to post and maintain a clearance gauge to indicate to vessels the water levels and available clearance while the bridge is in the closed-to-navigation position.
Currently, there is no regulation for this lift bridge or waterway. It is required to open on signal at all times in accordance with the general opening requirements.
The lift bridge was remotely-operated for several years without explicit approval by the Coast Guard.
CNR had requested approval to continue using remote operation equipment and operate the lift bridge with remotely-located drawtenders.
But in the last year, the Coast Guard was informed “the drawbridge is routinely unresponsive to signals and communications from vessels for bridge openings,” it noted in a report.
“In addition, the presence of government and public vessels operating between Rainy River and Rainy Lake has magnified the need for the drawbridge to be responsive and reliable for all vessel traffic,” it continued.
Back on Dec. 27, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rule-making (NPRM), entitled “Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Rainy River, Ranier, Mn.,” in the Federal Register (75 FR 32381).
At that time, it received seven positive comments and one
negative comment.
The positive comments supported the proposed regulation, as written, including letters of support from the City of International Falls, the City of Ranier, and the Koochiching County Board of Commissioners.
Tim “Chopper” McBride, councillor-at-large for the City of International Falls, said the ruling is welcome news, adding the county board worked hard, with the support of the two cities, to lobby for it.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s good,” he enthused. “I think in the end, CN will adapt to it well.
“It’s economic development with jobs, and it’s great to make the ability to access the upper Rainy River and Rainy Lake a lot easier,” McBride added.
“If CN will be able to operate how it needs to operate, the boating traffic will be able to operate, and you’ll have four or five guys working there.
“That’s cool,” he remarked.
McBride said he’s fully aware of the issues boaters have been facing.
“It’s tough for the Canadians over at the [Sorting Gap] marina . . . If that bridge is down, you’re about a foot-and-a-half from your head sometimes,” he noted.
The negative comment was submitted by the CNR, which questioned the justification to require drawtenders due to infrequent bridge openings for vessels in recent years.
CNR also requested that the Coast Guard alter the proposed dates and times that drawtenders would be required to be at the lift bridge.
CNR reported no bridge opening requests were received until June 20 last year, and that between Memorial Day and Labour Day last year, the bridge was required to be opened a total of 31 times, resulting in an average of 2.2 bridge openings per week.
But based on the information provided by other comments received in response to the NPRM, the Coast Guard was concerned about the lift bridge being responsive to requests for bridge openings—and not being operated in accordance with federal drawbridge regulations.
The new rule is “expected to provide for the reasonable balance of all modes of transportation and effectively accomplish the requested goal of improving bridge openings and communications between vessel operators and the [CNR] drawtender[s],” the Coast Guard stated.
The Coast Guard believes the Ranier lift bridge has not been operated in accordance with the drawbridge regulations, and “this rule is expected to bring the drawbridge into full compliance with the federal drawbridge regulations.”
