How do I find bridge clearances on the Intracoastal Waterway in Broward and Palm Beach?

Where do official bridge clearance numbers come from?

The Coast Pilot states that vertical clearances of bridges and overhead cables are in feet above mean high water unless otherwise stated, and that drawbridge clearances are for the closed position. The figures are those approved for nautical charting, mostly supplied by the U.S. Coast Guard for bridges and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for cables. Horizontal clearances are generally shown on the charts.

Closed clearances listed in the October 2026 edition for some local drawbridges:

• Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach (Mile 1039.6): 12 feet at the center.
• Spanish River Boulevard, Boca Raton (Mile 1044.9): 21 feet, 25 feet at the center.
• Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton (Mile 1047.5): 19 feet at the center.
• East Camino Real, Boca Raton (Mile 1048.2): 9 feet at the center.
• Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach (Mile 1050.0): 21 feet at the center.
• Atlantic Boulevard, Pompano Beach (Mile 1056.0): 15 feet at the center.
• SE 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale (Mile 1065.9): authorized 55 feet at the center.[1][2]

When do the drawbridges open?

Opening schedules are in 33 CFR 117.261 (as of 2026). Spanish River and Palmetto Park open on the hour and half hour, East Camino Real opens at :00, :20 and :40, Hillsboro Boulevard opens at :00 and :30, NE 14th Street in Pompano Beach opens at :15 and :45, and Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach opens at :15 and :45. SE 17th Street opens at :00 and :30 but only once an hour, on the hour, during weekday peak periods. General drawbridge rules are in 33 CFR 117.1 through 117.49.

The City of Boca Raton notes four drawbridges in the city: three over the Intracoastal and the State Road A1A bridge over the Boca Raton Inlet, which it says opens on demand. Many bridgetenders monitor VHF-FM channel 16 and work channel 13.[3][1][5]

How do you adjust for real conditions?

Because listed clearances are measured from mean high water, actual clearance shrinks when the water is higher than that. Where installed, clearance gauges on bridge piers show the actual clearance between the current water level and the lowest point of the bridge over the channel. The Coast Pilot also cautions that a bascule span that does not open to a full vertical position does not provide unlimited clearance across the whole opening.

• Measure your boat's air draft and add a margin.
• Check Local Notices to Mariners, which each Coast Guard district usually publishes weekly at navcen.uscg.gov, for bridge work and schedule changes.
• Account for overhead power cables, whose clearances are listed separately.[2][4]