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Bridge and Lock Tenders: Career Profile

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.

What Tasks Do Bridge and Lock Tenders Perform?

Typical responsibilities of bridge and lock tenders cover:

• Control machinery to open and close canal locks and dams, railroad or highway drawbridges, or horizontally or vertically adjustable bridges.
• Direct movements of vessels in locks or bridge areas, using signals, telecommunication equipment, or loudspeakers.
• Observe position and progress of vessels to ensure best use of lock spaces or bridge opening spaces.
• Record names, types, and destinations of vessels passing through bridge openings or locks, and numbers of trains or vehicles crossing bridges.
• Observe approaching vessels to determine size and speed, and listen for whistle signals indicating desire to pass.
• Move levers to activate traffic signals, navigation lights, and alarms.
• Write and submit maintenance work requisitions.
• Log data, such as water levels and weather conditions.

Skills and Knowledge

Successful bridge and lock tenders combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Top Skills

These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Types of Bridge and Lock Tenders Jobs

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

• Bridge Crew Member
• Bridge Leverman
• Bridge Opener
• Bridge Operator
• Bridge Saw Operator
• Bridge Tender
• Bridgeman
• Crossing Tender

How Many Bridge and Lock Tenders Are There?

There are roughly 155,646 bridge and lock tenders working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -1.8% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Bridge and Lock Tenders

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$43,399
Hourly median	$20.86
10th percentile	$25,674
25th percentile	$34,536
75th percentile	$52,261
90th percentile	$61,123

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

Pay by State

State	Annual median salary
Washington	$75,920
Mississippi	$73,240
Minnesota	$72,960
Missouri	$72,700
Iowa	$70,140
Illinois	$69,530
Alabama	$68,000
Pennsylvania	$67,500
West Virginia	$65,460
Tennessee	$65,060
Kentucky	$60,780
Texas	$59,300
California	$57,750
Michigan	$56,260
Ohio	$56,080
Wisconsin	$55,530
Massachusetts	$53,310
New York	$51,340
Indiana	$47,670
Florida	$42,470
Louisiana	$35,870
North Carolina	$33,970

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Pay for bridge and lock tenders shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Plains States	$71,903	7.7%	1.53
Far Western US	$65,320	5.4%	0.45
Great Lakes	$60,922	29.0%	1.98
Southwest	$59,300	3.2%	0.28
Middle Atlantic	$57,043	15.4%	1.24
New England	$53,310	1.8%	0.67
Southeast	$48,122	37.6%	5.58

Where the Jobs Cluster

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
St. Louis, MO-IL	MO	$74,090	30
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	IL	$70,240	120
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	IA	$69,530	40
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	LA	$68,430	40
Pittsburgh, PA	PA	$67,500	110
Baton Rouge, LA	LA	$64,730	40
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	NY	$52,870	130
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	MA	$49,620	50

Industry Breakdown

The largest employers of bridge and lock tenders are found across these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Transportation and Warehousing	360	$47,080

Bridge and Lock Tenders work in the following industries:

Tools and Technology

• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software: Oracle PeopleSoft (hot technology)
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software: SAP software (hot technology)

Work Environment

The on-the-job environment of bridge and lock tenders reflects the following characteristics:

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
• Telephone Conversations
• Contact With Others
• Consequence of Error
• Freedom to Make Decisions

Getting Started in This Career

Entry-level bridge and lock tenders positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Related Careers

Similar Occupations

• Security Guards (Supplemental)
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (Supplemental)
• Highway Maintenance Workers (Supplemental)
• Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers (Supplemental)
• Locksmiths and Safe Repairers (Supplemental)
• Riggers (Supplemental)
• Signal and Track Switch Repairers (Supplemental)
• Locomotive Engineers (Primary-Short)

References

Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 53-6011.00 (Bridge and Lock Tenders).