The Venice Avenue Bascule Bridge is located in Venice on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Mile Marker 56.6. One of three opening bridges in the cut around the Venice Municipal Airport, the bridge carries traffic to and from the Gulf coast to the mainland.

Use NOAA Chart 11425.

Approaching from the south or north, the bridge lies in the middle of a very narrow cut, with no aids to navigation; project depths are four to five feet. Simply keep yourself planted in the middle to avoid any contact with the bottom.

This bridge operates on a restricted opening schedule. Year-round, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the bridge opens at ten, 30 and fifty minutes past the hour. There are no openings from 4:35 to 5:35 p.m.

Depending on schedule, 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.