The Mackinac Bridge is an architectural masterpiece
In a state full of wonders, the Mackinac Bridge represents one of Michigan’s most important anchors, connecting the state’s two peninsulas and representing an architectural feat.
The construction of the bridge, which opened in 1957, took decades. At the end of the 19th century, discussions began about connecting the two peninsulas of Michigan.
The Straits of Mackinac, the deep, narrow waterway that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and separates Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, has been an important trade route for hundreds of years.
Miracle of Michigan: The Mackinac Bridge
There is hardly anything more wonderful in Michigan than the Mackinac Bridge.
The Michigan Legislature ordered the establishment of a ferry service on the strait in 1923, and according to the bridge authority, a feasibility study for the bridge was commissioned within five years. The ferry service between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace consisted of nine boats and was designed to carry up to 9,000 vehicles per day. However, traffic jams could be as long as 16 miles and cause delays of up to 24 hours, leading to further bridge calls.
The cost of building the bridge was estimated at $30 million at the time, according to the authority’s website. The legislature created the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority in 1934, but abolished it in 1947 after years of delays and failed attempts to obtain funds.
In 1950, a new Mackinac Bridge Authority was formed and former U.S. Congressman and Senator Prentiss Brown was elected as its first chairman. Work on bridging the peninsulas began in earnest. Engineer David B. Steinman was hired to design the bridge in 1953 and construction began on May 7, 1954.
4,000 engineering drawings and 85,000 blueprints were used to build the bridge. More than 11,000 men worked on the bridge, including 3,500 on site and 7,500 in mills, workshops and quarries, as well as 350 engineers. Each cable contains 4,851,700 rivets, 1,016,600 steel bolts, 931,000 tons of concrete and 12,580 wires. The main towers rise 552 feet above the water and have a 199-foot clearance at the center for ships below. 42,000 miles of wire were used in the main cables to support the 1,024,500-ton bridge, the bridge authority’s website details.
At eight kilometers long and costing $100 million to build, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world between two anchorages when it opened on November 1, 1957. Five men lost their lives during the construction of the bridge, and another, the painter Daniel Doyle, died on August 7, 1997, when he fell from his painting platform.
According to the Mackinac Bridge Authority, it is now the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world by total length and the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Over 4 million vehicles cross the bridge each year.
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