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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Bridge and Lock Tenders. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $28,090 | $13.51 |
| 25th | $38,640 | $18.58 |
| 50th · Median | $57,700 | $27.74 |
| 75th | $69,620 | $33.47 |
| 90th | $75,360 | $36.23 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (20)
Typical tasks
- 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.
Expand more tasks (12)
- Write and submit maintenance work requisitions.
- Log data, such as water levels and weather conditions.
- Prepare accident reports.
- Perform maintenance duties, such as sweeping, painting, and yard work to keep facilities clean and in order.
- Turn valves to increase or decrease water levels in locks.
- 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.
- Raise drawbridges and observe passage of water traffic or lower drawbridges and raise automobile gates.
- Maintain and guard stations in bridges to check waterways for boat traffic.
- Clean and lubricate equipment, and make minor repairs and adjustments.
- Inspect canal and bridge equipment, and areas, such as roadbeds, for damage or defects, reporting problems to supervisors as necessary.
- Attach ropes or cable lines to bitts on lock decks or wharfs to secure vessels.
Skills used in this work
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Expand more skills (29)
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
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