TowRiver vs BridgeClear Mobile

TowRiver is a trip-planning and live-conditions companion for boaters on the Upper Mississippi River, the St. Croix, and the Illinois Waterway — from the Twin Cities down to St. Louis and up the Illinois to Lockport. Everything below is free to use during early access. MAP & NAUTICAL CHARTS • Interactive river map with the USACE Inland ENC nautical charts built in — bundled for the whole river, so they work with no signal. • Marinas, locks & dams, and every movable (opening) bridge on the three rivers. TRIP PLANNER • Pick a start and destination and get distance, the locks and bridges you'll pass, and an estimated running time based on your own cruising speeds. • Routes across the Prescott and Grafton confluences automatically. LIVE LOCK TRAFFIC & TOWS • See who's waiting, in the chamber, and inbound at each lock, in real time. • Underway tows plotted on the map with ETAs, plus each boat's usual route. • A typical-traffic heat map so you know the busy days and hours before you go. BRIDGE CLEARANCE FOR YOUR BOAT • Enter your air draft and movable bridges are color-coded green / yellow / red by whether you'll clear them at the current river level — read live off the nearby gauge. Always confirm against the clearance board or the bridge operator. RIVER CONDITIONS & WEATHER • Live river stage and flood status from NOAA gauges. • National Weather Service forecasts along your route. WHERE AM I • A GPS view that snaps your position to the channel and shows the next lock, bridge, and marina up- and down-river. NOT FOR NAVIGATION TowRiver is a planning aid, not a navigational instrument. Lock, traffic, chart, weather, and position data may be delayed, approximate, or incomplete. Always navigate with official charts, U.S. Coast Guard Notices to Mariners, working onboard equipment, and sound judgment. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Lock & traffic data: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. River & weather: NOAA / National Weather Service. Charts: USACE Inland ENC.

BridgeClear — Real-Time Bridge Clearance for Towboat Pilots BridgeClear gives towboat pilots and mariners live vertical clearance under every USACE and NOAA-charted bridge on America's inland and coastal waterways. A monthly subscription is required to access the premium navigation features described below. The app is free to download. Premium Features (require a monthly subscription): Live vertical clearance under every bridge, paired with your vessel's air draft Real-time NOAA gauge stages and tidal currents Movable-bridge open-position low steel readings River-mile awareness and waterway identification AIS vessel tracking NOAA nautical chart navigation with heads-up display Voyage planning with ETA estimates Community-reported navigation hazards Fleet map pin sharing with your crew Free Features (no subscription required): Rules of the Road reference Light List reference Quick Reference guide Data Sources directory Subscription is handled through Apple's App Store using StoreKit. Payment is charged to your Apple ID and auto-renews monthly. Cancel anytime in your App Store account settings.