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.
Most important skills
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Telecommunications
- Education and Training
- Transportation
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administrative
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Move levers to activate traffic signals, navigation lights, and alarms.
- Record names, types, and destinations of vessels passing through bridge openings or locks, and numbers of trains or vehicles crossing bridges.
- 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.
- Prepare accident reports.
- Observe approaching vessels to determine size and speed, and listen for whistle signals indicating desire to pass.
- Observe position and progress of vessels to ensure best use of lock spaces or bridge opening spaces.
- Log data, such as water levels and weather conditions.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (65% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (40%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (35%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Bridge and Lock Tenders is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 64% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 55% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 91% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 52% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 92% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 89% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 58% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 92% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 5%
- Occasional contact with others: 5%
- Contact with others about half the time: 10%
- Contact with others most of the time: 25%
- Constant contact with others: 55%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 15%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 30%
- Very important: 25%
- Extremely important: 30%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 21.05%
- Fairly important: 5.26%
- Important: 15.79%
- Very important: 21.05%
- Extremely important: 36.84%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 5%
- Limited freedom: 10%
- Some freedom: 50%
- A lot of freedom: 35%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 30%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5%
- Every day: 40%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 26.32%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 47.37%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.79%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.26%
- Every day: 5.26%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 10.53%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 42.11%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 15.79%
- Every day: 5.26%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 5.26%
- Fairly serious: 5.26%
- Serious: 10.53%
- Very serious: 26.32%
- Extremely serious: 52.63%
n = 19, Occupational Expert 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 53-6011.00 · SOC 53-6011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8