Did You Know: Mackinac Bridge

Sitting at five miles long, this major crossing allows motorists to drive from one peninsula to the other.

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension Bridge located between the cities of St. Ignace and Mackinac City, Michigan.

According to MackinacBridge.org the idea for a crossing came when a proposed ferry service failed. It wasn’t until the Brooklyn Bridge was built in New York City that the hopes of constructing a bridge across the straits came alive.

Following the failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, David B. Steinman (who also designed the Narrows Bridge) was brought on as the director and in 1957 the bridge opened to traffic. It was considered the longest bridge in the world until the opening of the Akashi Kykio Bridge in 1998 though it is still considered the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

Every Labour Day the bridge opens to pedestrians for the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. The walk is usually lead by the Governor of Michigan for the first trip. According to MackinacCity.com, in an average year, 40,000 to 65,000 people participate in the five-mile walk. The walk is almost always lead by the Governor of the state. This year it was led by Gretchen Whitmer the current Governor. Some former presidents have also done the walk and one of the most recent examples is former president George H.W. Bush who led the walk in 1992. He was the only president in history to do so.

If you are unable to see the big bridge for yourself, in St. Louis Michigan visitors get to see a smaller version of the bridge. Though built on private property it is available for the public to view and take pictures.

There is a toll to cross the bridge where you will have to pay two dollars per axle or four dollars per car for vehicles and $5 for other types of vehicles.