Bridging the Straits
Standing at a cool 552 feet, the "Mighty Mac" appears from the depths when taking I-75 north. The five-mile waterway below this marvellous construction already had a bridge that nature built in winter and melted in the spring. The ice bridge that connected the peninsulas reched up to three ft thick and proved useful for centuries of travellers and traders. Despite this useful seasonal bridge, the waters impeded travel and commerce. With the advent of the railroad, real calls for a permanent bridge across the Straits began to surface. Michigan residents have felt the need for an easier, more reliable route across the Straits of Mackinac since the 1800s, when the winter's cold and iced-over waters made crossing the Straits via boat impossible and many horses and carts were lost to the breakable ice bridge. There were a multitude of proposed solutions over the following decades that took inspiration from New York's Brooklyn Bridge (1883), and some even contemplated a floating tunnel to connect the Lower and Upper Peninsulas.
After experiments to provide year-round ferry services had failed, newpapers including the Lansing Republican debated the easiest route across the Straits, whether that be permanent or seasonal. The dedication of the Brooklyn Bridge only gave the debates more fervour. In 1884, residents of St. Ignace proposed a bridge across the Straits based on the artist rendering of the Brooklyn Bridge (Mackinac Bridge Authority). The board of directors of the Mackinac Island Grand Hotel also weighed in on the debate in 1888, citing that they had the most equipped hotel of its kind but no permanent crossing of the straits. One ambitious project suggested a number of island hopping causeways between Cheboygan, Bois Blanc, Round Island, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace.
In 1934, the Michigan Legislature created the Mackinac Bridge Authority to construct plans for the permanent bridge. After two failed attempts at loans from the Federal Administration of Public Works, the Bridge Authority was eventually dissolved. Before its demise, however, the Bridge Authority had decided upon a new direct route from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace and comprehensive preliminary plans were made.
By 1950, public opinion swung a citizen's committee into being and with that a new bridge authority. The preliminary report's favorable outcomes and hopes were dashed by the outbreak of the Korean War. However, investment by a private investment banker made sure the project went ahead.
After more than 70 years of planning, construction of the Mackinac Bridge began in 1954. Under the vision of engineers Othmar H. Ammann, David B. Steinman, and Glen B. Woodruff, the project came to life. In 1951, Senator Prentiss M. Brown was named chairman of the new Mackinac Bridge Authority and served until his death. During his chairmanship, he oversaw the construction and opening of the Bridge and was nicknamed the “father of the Mackinac Bridge.” Reporter Jack Carlisle commented that "the bridge project had many stalwart partisans. However, the project actually became a reality through the determination of one man - Prentiss M. Brown...who refused to accept defeat when it seemed inevitable."
With towers reaching 552 feet above lake level, a bridge deck that is 200 feet above the Straits, and 5 miles of roadway, the “Mighty” Mackinac Bridge is the third-longest suspension span in the United States. The Bridge's construction was a tremendous feat of engineering, taking over 350 engineers and 85,000 blueprints to build. Where nature had created its own ice bridge in the winter months, the legislature under Act 214 had signed a permanent crossing into law. David B. Steinman later wrote in Miracle Bridge at Mackinac that the Mackinac Bridge was “man’s triumph over nature.” Governor G. Mennen Williams also reflected on the project and its challenges, stating that, “The Mackinac Bridge is a true reflection of this spirit of Michigan, adventurous, unafraid, alive always to the call of new frontiers...the people of Michigan were faced with an apparently insoluble geographic problem – a barrier of deep and turbulent water which cut the state in half. This same water barrier served as a fluid highway,” creating a new trade route and a “magnificent northern Michigan vacationland” (Miracle Bridge at Mackinac, 7-9).
In 1954, men flocked from all points of the United States to build the long sought-after bridge. The mighty Mackinac Straits became just another bridge site—just another body of water to be conquered. The Bridge took 48 months to complete after the building and sinking of the tower piers and thirty legs; 3,500 workers; 71,300 tons of structural steel; 931,000 tons of concrete; 42,000 miles of cable wire; 4,851,700 steel rivets; 1,016,600 steel bolts; and a $99,800,000 price tag to boot. The Bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957, right on schedule, despite the hazardous conditions working on the Straits.
As the fifth-longest suspension bridge in the world, the Mackinac Bridge continues to be a triumph of awesome proportions. On its own, it weighs over 1,000,000 tons. Built to withstand Michigan's intense weather, the Bridge sways with the strong winds of the Straits. During the most severe wind storms, the Bridge can sway up to 35 ft east to west, and, as the temperature shifts, the Bridge can raise and lower up to 10 ft. In late June, the peak season for traffic, the Bridge can carry over 20,000 cars a day, and it reached its 100 millionth crossing in 1998.
The Mackinac Bridge remains a Michigan icon, appearing on the Michigan quarter, driver's licenses, and many license plates. For decades, the Bridge has served as the primary connection between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas, uniting Michigan as a whole and capturing the imagination of those who have witnessed it. David Steinman, one of the designers of the Bridge, wrote the following in a poem dedicated to it:
"There it spans the miles of water,
Speeding millions on their way—
Bridge of vision, hope and courage,
Portal to a brighter day."
