Boat Parade + Toy Run = traffic and detours

This promises to be a busy weekend on the roadways and waterways of Broward County.

The 46th annual Winterfest Boat Parade begins at 6:30 p.m. today in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It will launch near the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, travel east on the New River to the Intracoastal Waterway, then north to Lake Santa Barbara, which is just south of Atlantic Pompano Beach.

The parade takes more than two hours to pass any one point along the 12-mile route. No traffic will be allowed to cross drawbridges at certain times, that include:

The Southwest Seventh Avenue bridge between 6:20 and 8 p.m.; the Andrews Avenue and Southeast Third Avenue bridges between 6-8 p.m.; the East Las Olas Boulevard bridge between 7-9 p.m.; the East Sunrise Boulevard Boulevard in bridge from 7:20 to 9:30 p.m.; the East Oakland Park Boulevard bridge from 7:40 to 10 p.m.; and the East Commercial Boulevard bridge between 8-11 p.m. All bridge closure times are approximate.

Law enforcement officers will direct traffic and pedestrians during the event.

The 30th Annual Toys in the Sun Run kicks off about 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the Festival Flea Market in Pompano Beach and arrives at about 11 a.m. at Markham Park in Sunrise.

About 30,000 motorcycles will travel south on Northwest 27th Avenue, east on West Copans Road, south on Interstate 95, west on Interstate 595, then exit at 136th Avenue and continue west on State Road 84, north on International Drive, and west on Northwest Eighth Street into Markham Park.

More than 250 police officers will escort the convoy. There will be rolling detours and road closures during the procession.