There are few contemporary engineering feats that are as impressive as the Mackinac bridge. Not because of its size or its stature, but mostly because of its location. Yes the Golden Gate Bridge is impressive and so is Dragon bridge in Da Nang. There is London Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge, there are many such bridges globally that conjure magnificent imagery. Many of those bridges are magnificent and majestic symbols of modernization, but few are marvels of engineering which go seemingly nowhere. Bridges are often built to connect places already settled or vastly populated. Bridges connect one side of a massive city split by a river or bay opening. Bridges connect areas already bustling with commerce and wealth, but Mackinac connected a state split by massive lakes only with the promise of further growth. It was almost impossible to finance and even harder to build. A bridge built in one of the harshest winter environments in the U.S. and built almost exclusively for the challenge. A true monument of American ingenuity. We built this bridge not because we had to, but because we could. Joseph Straus once said “Bridges are a monument to progress” that has never been more true than with Mackinac bridge.
The story of Mackinac Bridge begins many years before the Midwest was broken into states. It will also explain the still very heated rivalry between the University of Michigan and Ohio State. It all begins with Toledo which we all know to be part of modern day Ohio, but this was not always the case. Early mappings of the Great Lakes caused much conflict and confusion in the early days of Midwestern territorial designation and both The Michigan and Ohio territories claimed a 468 square mile patch of land known as the Toledo strip. Many laws were passed in both territories in an effort to get the other to capitulate. Toledo was a major port town and Ohio’s need for an established port gave it little room to negotiate. There was even a battle that began on the border in 1835 between the two, though reports from the time only have shots being fired into the air. With Statehood in the balance for Ohio and mounting pressure from Congress and President Andrew Jackson, an offer that neither party could refuse was proposed. Michigan would concede the Toledo strip to Ohio and in exchange Michigan would receive the majority of what we now know as the Upper Peninsula and guaranteed statehood. To make sure all concessions were met before the deadline of January 1st 1837, The territory of Michigan called a congressional convention late in December of 1836 to confirm the compromise. It would come to be known as the “Frostbitten Convention” and would solidify both Michigan and Ohio’s place as States in the rapidly expanding union.
Though the inhabitants of Michigan felt that they received a raw deal, this is why animosity between the two states persisted for generations, exploration of and the discovery of rich mineral deposits and timber land within the upper Peninsula proved it to be a worthwhile compromise. The only problem was reaching and exploiting the newly acquired land. It would take many attempts and over 100 years before the dream of connecting lower Michigan from its newly acquired upper reaches would come true. With harsh winters and spring and fall storms regularly producing winds in excess of 70 miles an hour, it was difficult to guarantee fairy passage over the straits much less the ability to build a bridge.
The original idea was proposed in 1884, but it wasn’t until Cornelious Vanderbilt II proposed the idea in 1888, that the idea began to be taken seriously. Time would pass with little actual progress until 1923 when the state legislature established state funded ferry service across the straits. By 1928 with popularity and mounting costs it was clear an alternative solution to inconsistent and expensive ferry service was needed. With war brewing in Europe and the straits seemingly a distant dream the bridges funding was voted down by Washington as part of Roosevelt’s public works projects. With the original Mackinac Bridge Authority being abolished in 1947 it seemed the dream of connecting the two peninsula was finally defeated. However, in 1950 the same legislative body that abolished the original Bridge authority established a new one and in that same year engineers were retained for the job.
Still unable to secure funding from Washington in 1951 the Michigan state legislature approved the sell of $85 million worth of bonds, an astronomical amount at the time, to begin the construction. Designed by David B. Stern, the bridge would become his crowning achievement and the unofficial symbol of Michigan. Construction began on May 7th, 1954 and opened to the public on November 1st 1957. Construction halted each winter as conditions were to brutal and dangerous to risk any catastrophes.
Upon its completion it was the longest suspension bridge in the world and currently holds the record for longest suspension between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. The bridge deck is made of grated steel so if one looks down outside of your window you can see down to the water some 200 ft below. It’s construction is such to allow the wind to cut through the bridge rather than catch it like a sail. The MDOT even offers free driving assistance to those who are uncomfortable or even afraid to drive over this massive modern marvel. The two towers are 552 feet high and the water depth at its center is 250 feet. It takes 7 years to paint the bridge at which time painting restarts. You can see one of the giant paint decks on the upper right-hand side of the tower below. I personally think that what makes the bride so beautiful and majestic is that as you drive towards it its towers come into view over the thick northern forests of northern Michigan. You drive over it and the massive Lake Michigan is to your left and the mighty Lake Huron is to your right and you plunge right back into the forest. No skyscrapers, no skyline save for mighty northern furs and hardwoods, no planes dotting the horizon, Just the “Mighty Mack” and wilderness.
