I love bridges; mostly the kind that creates ways to “bridge” our relationships to better understanding and love, but I’m on a structural-bridge roll at the moment. Last week’s blog on the Golden Gate Bridge engendered my desire to also write something up on our favorite home bridge: the Mackinac Bridge. Funny how we take these noticeable structures and make them our personal own. You know, the Mitten is ours, the Upper Peninsula is ours, the Great Lakes are ours, the Dunes are ours, etc., etc. We take pride in our surroundings and what we have built or achieved. Whether it was us, someone we know, or random people who built these wonders – or the good Lord Himself.
It was July 1, 1888 when the “famous” Grand Hotel’s board of directors met on Mackinac Island to deliberate on the need for a bridge to span our two peninsulas. The creation of the Mackinac Bridge, designed by engineer Dr. David B. Steinman, was over 70 years in the making. That includes all the dreaming, meetings, planning, preparation and hard work it took to make it a reality. Once the feasibility of building it and estimated costs ($32,400,000 for a combined two-lane highway and one-track railway bridge) were sorted out, repeated attempts to obtain loans and grants from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works were rejected, even though the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers endorsed it and the late President Roosevelt favored the bridge. It wasn’t until May of 1954 and many different designs as well as an increase of costs to $86,000,000 – paid by Mackinac Bridge revenue bonds purchased by investors all over the country – that ground was finally broken to build the long four lane bridge. Forty-eight months later, with scads of people in different areas of the process, the bridge opened to its first vehicles (November 1, 1957).
When completed, the Mackinac Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world and it is currently the longest suspension bridge in North & South America (from its approaches). Interestingly, out of the articles I gleaned information from they had differing ratings as to the status in suspension bridges, especially for world records. One said it was the third longest, another said the fifth longest, and a direct Google search didn’t even show it in the top ten world line-up. It appears it depends on how it’s measured. The Golden Gate Bridge spans one mile of water whereas the Mackinac Bridge spans five miles (including the approaches), however one report said the Golden Gate Bridge was the longer suspension bridge. I’m assuming it has to do with the fact that the world's longest suspension bridges are listed according to the length of their main span (the length of suspended roadway between a bridge's towers instead of the total distance over the water), so the tally may differ depending on who is measuring. But we still love “our” bridge best, no matter how it compares to other bridges. It is pretty impressive considering the weather it has to put up with.
Less than half the number of men died on the Mackinac Bridge compared to the Golden Gate Bridge, but they are all mourned alike. My family knows this personally as one of our family members was one of the five men who fell from the Mackinac Bridge, leaving behind a wife and two young children whose lives were forever changed. As I said last week, it’s pretty sad and a little grisly to consider that when they begin building one of these architectural structures there is a death expectancy.
The Golden Gate Bridge may have fog concerns for their ships, but the Mackinac Bridge has not only fog, but wind and ice issues for everyone crossing under and over it. Several times a year, the Mighty Mac is closed due to high winds, freezing rain, or falling chunks of ice after thaws comes. (It is closed right now as I type, April 4, 2022, for falling ice.) Winds of 65 miles per hour close the bridge entirely (category one hurricane starts at 75 mph). As some storm fronts take only a couple of minutes to go from calm winds to hurricane gusts, the bridge authority starts escorting trucks and trailers across at 35 mph, and the bridge is closed to trucks and trailers at 55 mph winds. The winds have caused both a camper and a boat on a trailer to tip over on the bridge, so safety over convenience is always essential on Michigan’s big bridge.
If you’re a bit shy on driving across the Big Mac, there are transport services offered to pedestrians, cyclists, snowmobilers, and motorists who are uncomfortable driving across the bridge. These services are available 24⁄7 for all vehicle types for no extra cost. You’re so high in the air, it can be a little scary whether you’re a driver or a passenger.
I’ve seen old pictures with tons of cars waiting in line for their turn to cross over on the ferry prior to the bridge being built. I’ve seen pictures of the beginnings of the Mackinac Bridge as it was being built and the turbulent straits of water between the two peninsulas looking amazingly large and empty. The bridge created so much more than an easy access between the peninsulas. It created the ability to more easily work and live on either side and to travel and vacation between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas and beyond. It gave us the freedom to jump into the next generations of busier lifestyles with shorter time on our hands. We still mourn when we think of the men who died making these bridges a reality, and other construction sites as well, but the beautiful Peninsulas are accessible and millions of people drive over the 5-mile distance on a regular basis. We are grateful for all the opportunities it has created.
The names of the men who died on the Mackinaw Bridge: Frank Pepper, September 16, 1954; James R. LeSarge, October 10, 1954; Albert Abbott, October 25, 1954; Jack C. Baker, June 6, 1956; and, Robert Koppen, June 6, 1956.
Picture from the Mackinaw Bridge Authority. The bridge is closed for falling ice. 4/4/2022
Commenti