Being a huge fan of the Mighty Mac (the Mackinac Bridge, which spans the Straits of Mackinac connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas and located where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet), I was thrilled to discover that there is a museum devoted to the Mackinac Bridge! The museum is the creation of J.C. Stilwell, an ironworker who was involved in building the Bridge from start to finish. The Mackinaw Bridge Museum, located above Stilwell's MaMa Mia restaurant in Mackinaw City, is packed full of donations from fellow ironworkers and others involved with the construction of the bridge and also includes a plethora of memorabilia commemorating the bridge.
The complexity of the building of the bridge - and the importance of the bridge - is monumental. Prior to the bridge, cars would wait in line for hours to cross the straits by ferry. As noted in the Mackinac Bridge Authority website: "During the November deer hunting season, thousands of hunters jammed the docks and the adjoining highway while they waited to board the ferries. Patient veterans of the Straits crossing would calmly munch hot pasties sold by car-to-car vendors and feed the ever-present sea gulls."
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- The bridge is 5 miles long including approaches and was until recently the world’s longest suspension bridge (it is now the 5th longest).
- The bridge was designed by Dr. David B. Steinman – who developed the design on his own dime, betting that eventually approval and funding for a bridge across the straits would become a reality.
- The total quantity of concrete used in the substructure (anchorages, piers, and foundations) is around 336,000 cubic meters. Of this, 268,000 (almost 80%) is underwater.
- What the ironworkers were dealing with (the museum really highlights the ironworkers):
- Total length of wire in the main cables: 42,000 miles.
- Total number of steel rivets: 4,851,700
- Total number of steel bolts: 1,016,600
- 33 spans were constructed on 34 piers, out of which two main piers were carried down to the highest depth of 70 meters.
- Height of the main towers above water: 552 feet
- The total weight of the steel superstructure (cables, structural steel, and roadway) is 66,500 tons.
- People employed: 3500 at the bridge site, 7500 at the quarries, mills, etc., 350 engineers.
- Height of the main towers above water: 552 feet
- The bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. The 50 millionth crossing was September 25, 1984; the 100 millionth was June 25, 1998; and the 200 millionth was June 15, 2022 - just a few days after we came across the bridge on this trip to Michigan!
...a sampling of the museum's collection:
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| Hard hats - lots & lots of hard hats, most signed by their wearers - and other gear of the ironworking trade. |
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| Diving suit and tribute |
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| Mackinac Bridge memorabilia through the ages |
Here's to the Mighty Mac and to those who built it!
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