14418 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 59 / Wednesday, March 28, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[CGD08–07–006] 

Drawbridge Operating Regulations; 

Berwick Bay, (Atchafalaya River) 

Morgan City, LA 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation 

from regulations. 

SUMMARY: The Commander, Eighth 

Coast Guard District, has issued a 

temporary deviation from the regulation 

governing the operation of the BNSF 

Railway Company Vertical Lift Span 

Bridge across Berwick Bay, mile 0.4, 

(Atchafalaya River, mile 17.5) at Morgan 

City, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. This 

deviation provides for the bridge to 

remain closed to navigation for 12 

consecutive hours to conduct scheduled 

maintenance to the drawbridge. 

DATES: This deviation is effective from 

8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 

14, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Materials referred to in this 

document are available for inspection or 

copying at the office of the Eighth Coast 

Guard District, Bridge Administration 

Branch, Hale Boggs Federal Building, 

Room 1313, 500 Poydras Street, New 

Orleans, Louisiana 70130–3310 between 

7 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The 

telephone number is (504) 671–2128. 

The Bridge Administration Branch 

maintains the public docket for this 

temporary deviation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Frank, Bridge Administration 

Branch, telephone (504) 671–2128. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BNSF 

Railway Company has requested a 

temporary deviation in order to replace 

the railroad signal circuits of the BNSF 

Railway Railroad Vertical Lift Span 

Bridge across Berwick Bay, mile 0.4 

(Atchafalaya River, mile 17.5) at Morgan 

City, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. 

Replacement of the signal circuits is 

necessary to turn the lining of signals 

across the bridge into a fully automatic 

operation so that the bridge will be in 

full compliance with requirements of 

the Federal Railroad Administration. 

This temporary deviation will allow the 

bridge to remain in the closed-tonavigation position from 8 a.m. until 8 

p.m. on Thursday, June 14, 2007. The 

proposed work was previously 

scheduled for Wednesday, December 13, 

2006 and Wednesday, February 7, 2007, 

but had to be postponed. The bridge 

owner is now prepared to complete the 

work and has coordinated the closure 

with all departments within the 

railroad. There may be times, during the 

closure period, when the draw will not 

be able to open for emergencies. 

The bridge provides 4 feet of vertical 

clearance in the closed-to-navigation 

position. Thus, most vessels will not be 

able to transit through the bridge site 

when the bridge is closed. Navigation 

on the waterway consists of tugs with 

tows, fishing vessels and recreational 

craft including sailboats and 

powerboats. Due to prior experience, as 

well as coordination with waterway 

users, it has been determined that this 

closure will not have a significant effect 

on these vessels. 

In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), 

the drawbridge must return to its regular 

operating schedule immediately at the 

end of the designated time period. This 

deviation from the operating regulations 

is authorized under 33 CFR 117.35. 

Dated: March 20, 2007. 

Marcus Redford, 

Bridge Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E7–5612 Filed 3–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[CGD09–07–004] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Detroit River (Trenton Channel), 

Grosse Ile, MI 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

temporarily revising the operating 

regulations for the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge 

at Mile 8.80 over the Trenton Channel 

during the planned seven-month 

duration of time that the Grosse Ile 

County (Free) Bridge at Mile 5.60 will 

be rehabilitated and not available for 

vehicular traffic. Grosse Ile is connected 

to the mainland by these two bridges 

only. The temporary regulations will 

revise the number of required bridge 

openings of the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge to 

provide less interruptions of vehicular 

traffic while simultaneously providing 

for reasonable needs of marine 

navigation. 

DATES: This temporary rule is effective 

from 6 a.m. on April 18, 2007 until 6:30 

p.m. on December 15, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Documents indicated in this 

preamble as being available in the 

docket are part of docket CGD09–07–

004 and are available for inspection or 

copying at Commander (dpb), Ninth 

Coast Guard District, 1240 E. Ninth 

Street, Room 2025, Cleveland, Ohio 

44199–2060 between 7 a.m.. and 3 a.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Kurt Carlson, U.S. Ninth Coast Guard 

Bridge Branch, (216) 902–6086. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We did 

not publish a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) for this regulation. 

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Coast 

Guard finds that good cause exists for 

not publishing an NPRM. This 

temporary rule is designed to insure that 

marine navigation of the Trenton 

Channel is maintained throughout the 

entire period of Grosse Ile (Free) Bridge 

rehabilitation (seven months). Dates for 

the rehabilitation project were just 

submitted by the bridge owner. 

Providing notice and comment would 

mean that this temporary final rule 

would not be issued in advance of the 

project beginning, which is contrary to 

the public interest. 

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), and for the 

same reason cited above, the Coast 

Guard finds that good cause exists for 

making this rule effective in less than 30 

days after publication in the Federal 

Register. 

Background and Purpose 

Grosse Ile, an island in the Detroit 

River, is a suburb of the City of Detroit, 

Michigan. Most residents are employed 

off-island and must traverse one of the 

two bridges that connect the island to 

the mainland. ‘‘Rush hour’’ traffic is 

extremely heavy. The U.S. Coast Guard, 

at the request of the Manager of Grosse 

Ile Township and Congressional and 

State Representatives, is modifying the 

operation of the Grosse Ile Toll (swing) 

Bridge during the period of time that the 

Grosse Ile ‘‘Free’’ Bridge will be out of 

service due to scheduled rehabilitation. 

The modified operations will limit the 

number of bridge openings for the 

Grosse Ile Toll Bridge resulting in fewer 

interruptions for vehicular traffic 

particularly during the morning and 

afternoon ‘‘rush hours’’. Bridge logs 

reveal that the Toll Bridge is required to 

open (on average) 150 times per month 

for recreational vehicles and an 

additional 11 times per month for 

commercial vessels. The current 

regulations for Grosse Ile Toll Bridge at 


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