The Lemon Bay Bascule Bridge is located approximately 12 miles south of Venice and 10 miles north of Charlotte Harbor on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) at Mile Marker 43.5. The bridge carries state Route 776 traffic across Lemon Bay to Manasota Key.

Use NOAA Chart 11425.

The bridge has a closed vertical clearance of 26 feet, with 86 feet of horizontal clearance in the center span.

Although well marked, the GIWW channel here is notoriously shoal, and abruptly shallow on its edges. A slow approach, keeping in mind the influencing currents from nearby Stump Pass, is in order.

The Lemon Bay Bascule bridge opens on signal at all times.

The bridge can be opened by horn signal (one long, one short) or by hailing the bridge tender on VHF Channel 09. (All bridges in the state of Florida must be hailed on VHF Channel 09.)

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.