(Left) Sailboats under the raised bridges at Dearborn and Clark Streets on October 23, 2013. (Click on image to view larger version.)

April 10, 2014 – The Chicago River’s movable bridges will go up and down 20 times this spring – four times in April, eight in May, and eight in June. The city announced the season’s bridge lift schedule on Wednesday.

Along the main and south branches, the bridges are raised to allow recreational boat traffic to get from winter storage to Lake Michigan.

Rebekah Scheinfeld, the new commissioner of Chicago Department of Transportation, called the bridge lifts “a local rite of spring” that marks the beginning of the boating season.

According to Scheinfeld, the schedule is worked out between the city and local storage yards to accommodate the boats with the least impact on street traffic in downtown Chicago.

There are 27 bridges between Ashland Avenue and Lake Shore Drive. During a boat run, each bridge is raised one at a time. Each lift takes about 8-12 minutes.