Growning up in Northern Michigan, I have spent my life around some of the most beautiful things, I somtimes take for granted the things that people Travel hundreds of miles to see.
My Favorite thing is the Mackinac Bridge, I am always amazed at how spectacular it is.. I love to go walk along the beach and look at it, One of my favorite things to do is to tell the out of towners that every hour on the hour, the bridge swings over to Mackinac Island, and they can drive right to it... hehe just by looking at the pics of this bridge, you can see how rediculase that is.. not to mention, Mackinac Island is a horse and carriage island and there are no cars alowed.. People still fall for it thoe.
I know that some people would say that this is "Just a bridge" what could be so great about it? Well I guess you have to see it to believe it, and Learn some of its history to realy appreciate it. I have got together some facts and put them here for you to check out. I hope you enjoy them.
It takes approximately 9 years and 70,000 gallons of paint to paint the bridge, Its a never ending job.
World's longest suspension bridge from 1957-1999, 7,400 feet from bent pier to bent pier, approximately 1 1/2 miles suspended over water. Thats 950 feet longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. The total length of the bridge is approximately 5 miles with 34 piers and connects Michigan's two Peninsula's St. Ignace in the Upper with a population of 3,000 and Mackinaw City in the lower with 800 residents. It extends over the straits of Mackinac With Lake Michigan to the West and Lake Huron to the East.
The two main towers are 552 feet above the water and 210 feet down to bedrock. The depth of the water at the towers is 142 feet, leaving 68 feet of overburden, The two main cables which support the suspended portion of the bridge consist of 12,580 individual wires totaling 42,000 miles in length, thats 1 3/4 times around the earth. The diameter of each cable is 24 1/2 inches, about as wide as a sidewalk, The cables weigh 11,840 tons. The bridge weights 1,024,500 tons consisting of 931,000 tons of concrete and 93,500 tons of steel. Water depth at midspan is 295 feet deep. The road surface at midspan is 199 feet. The steel trusswork of the superstructure is 44 feet, leaving 155 feet for large ships to pass under the middle of the bridge. Even large Navy ships can pass. There are approximately 5 million rivets and over one million bolts used to hold the bridge together.
Prior to the bridge, vehicles had to cross over the ice in the winter or take the train ferries. In 1923, the state of Michigan purchased car ferries to transport vehicles across the Straits, The car ferries grew to a fleet of 5 handling approximately 900,000 vehicles. There was waiting lines on both peninsula's to get on the car ferries. The longest wait was 8 1/2 hours during the deer hunting season. Gas stations had pumps with very long hoses so that they could service cars while they remained in line. Venders would go car to car selling hot dogs, popcorn, candy and pop. The car ferries stopped running when the bridge opened. The Mackinac bridge Authority was formed in 1950 with the task of building the Mackinac Bridge. First they had to see if a bridge could be built over the stormy Straits of Mackinac. Next they had to see if it could be paid for, The MBA determined that the bridge could be built and went to wall street in New York to obtain financing by selling $100 million worth of bonds, These bonds were all paid off by July of 1986.
The bridge cost $96 million dollars. $78 million was paid to contractors and the remaining 18 million was used to service the debt during construction. The replaceent cost to rebuild th bridge today would be approximately $400 million. The budget for the bridge is aproximately $5 million, employing 102 people. 45 are full time and 57 work only in the summer when the weather allows for maintenance work, The MBA hired the Steinman Engineering firm to design the Mackinac Bridge and Contracted Merritt-Chapman and Scott to build the concrete foundations and the American Bridge Division of United States Steel to build the world's longest suspension bridge at the time. The work on the bridge began in the spring of 1954 and opened to traffic on November 1, 1957 just 3 1/2 years later. It employed 350 engineers and 11,000 workers 3,500 at the site and 7,500 at quarries, shops and mills.
Five workers were killed during the construction of the bridge. Two died when the catwalk broke and they fell over 200 feet to the water below. One died of a heart attack and fell into the concrete while one of the piers were being cast. His body WAS recovered. The other two died in diving accidents on November 1, 1998 The Mackinac Bridge celebrated being open 41 years.
There has been 4 fatal vehicles accidents on the bridge claiming a total of 5 lives, There has been 6
possble suicides from the bridge with 5 bodies being found, In September of 1978 a light plane flew into the suspender cables during a heavy fog. The plane was destroyed, killing all 3 people aboard. Also in 1978 a large ship sideswiped the north tower causing $40,000 damage to the bridge and $250,000 damage to the ship. There was one fatal accident to an employee during its 41 year hestory. One of the painters, working under the bidge, fell and drown despite rescue attempts by his co-workers. The bridge is insured for damage. the engineers have determined that the maximum probable loss would be if a large oil tanker was to hit a tower pier and explode, the heat would be enough to weaken the tower, causing it to collapse. If this happened the main cables would pull down the other tower and the entire suspended portion of the bridge would fall into the Straits. It would cost $257 million to replace and would take about 2 years. People have been married on the bridge deck, and on top of the bridge towers, Babies born on the bridge, People have thrown the ashes of their loved ones off the bridge, Deer, dogs and skunks have been found on the bridge. And Every year on labor day the bridge is open for pedestrians to walk across. There are approxiately 60,000 people walk across the bridge. The Mackinac Bridge Authority, Provides lots of services to motorists. They will Transport passengers, bicycles and snowmobiles across the bridge, they provide drivers for timid motorists. They escort vehicles over 10 feet wide, They have a 24 hour per day bridge patrol to assist motorists, to report hazards, accidents and road conditions, This information was Provided by the St. Ignace Welcome Center 1-75 N. Mackinac Bridge Plaza St. Ignace, Michigan 49781 ph: (906)643-6979 fax: (906)643-9904...Thanks To them for providing me with the Information I needed.... You should come to Northern Michigan somtime and check it out, eat some of the fantastic fudge and enjoy your self. I promise You wont be sorry!
