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Bridge and Lock Tenders
Operate and tend bridges, canal locks, and lighthouses to permit marine passage on inland waterways, near shores, and at danger points in waterway passages. May supervise such operations. Includes drawbridge operators, lock operators, and slip bridge operators.
Also Known As:
Bridge Operator
Bridge Tender
Lock Tender
Wages
Annual wages for Bridge and Lock Tenders in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
2,800
-3% Change From 2024
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Attach ropes or cable lines to bitts on lock decks or wharfs to secure vessels.
- Move levers to activate traffic signals, navigation lights, and alarms.
- Observe approaching vessels to determine size and speed, and listen for whistle signals indicating desire to pass.
- Check that bridges are clear of vehicles and pedestrians prior to opening.
- Stop automobile and pedestrian traffic on bridges, and lower automobile gates prior to moving bridges.
- Record names, types, and destinations of vessels passing through bridge openings or locks, and numbers of trains or vehicles crossing bridges.
- Write and submit maintenance work requisitions.
- Observe position and progress of vessels to ensure best use of lock spaces or bridge opening spaces.
- Prepare accident reports.
- Maintain and guard stations in bridges to check waterways for boat traffic.
- Write and submit maintenance work requisitions.
- Turn valves to increase or decrease water levels in locks.
- Perform maintenance duties, such as sweeping, painting, and yard work to keep facilities clean and in order.
- Control machinery to open and close canal locks and dams, railroad or highway drawbridges, or horizontally or vertically adjustable bridges.
- Inspect canal and bridge equipment, and areas, such as roadbeds, for damage or defects, reporting problems to supervisors as necessary.
- Direct movements of vessels in locks or bridge areas, using signals, telecommunication equipment, or loudspeakers.
- Log data, such as water levels and weather conditions.
- Raise drawbridges and observe passage of water traffic or lower drawbridges and raise automobile gates.
- Observe approaching vessels to determine size and speed, and listen for whistle signals indicating desire to pass.
- Stop automobile and pedestrian traffic on bridges, and lower automobile gates prior to moving bridges.
- Raise drawbridges and observe passage of water traffic or lower drawbridges and raise automobile gates.
- Clean and lubricate equipment, and make minor repairs and adjustments.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")