GRAFTON, Il. (KMOX) - If riding from the river to the top of the Mississippi River Bluffs on a chair or in a gondola sounds like fun to you, your chance to do so is coming up in a couple of weeks.
Lorton had hoped to open the lift on May 1, but weather got in the way.
"The manufacturers are in New Hampshire. When we had a foot of snow, they had six feet," Lorton says.
He said that made it difficult to get the components manufactured and shipped to Grafton. Rain on the bluffs also created a hurdle to overcome.
"My dad, Jeff Lorton, brought in a ton of rock to make makeshift pads for the cranes," Lorton says. "It worked, so they're all up. They're all getting level with the world and they're going to start putting cable on them."
The cable and the gondolas are on site. The lift chairs are scheduled to arrive on the 13th.
He has had people asking to be the first to ride the lift, but Lofton says that honor will probably go to his parents and their grandchildren.
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PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 1
(Brian Kelly, KMOX)PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 2
(Courtesy of GRAFTON SKYTOUR)PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 3
(Brian Kelly, KMOX)PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 4
(Courtesy of GRAFTON SKYTOUR)PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 5
(Courtesy of GRAFTON SKYTOUR)PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 6
(Courtesy of GRAFTON SKYTOUR)PHOTOS: New Grafton Sky Lift opening soon will offer 'best view in the Midwest' 7
(Courtesy of GRAFTON SKYTOUR)
