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07/01/2007Big Mac at 50
Structure still an inspiration
The view from the south tower of the Mackinac Bridge, facing north toward St. Ignace and the Upper Peninsula. ST. IGNACE — Its white towers and green cables arch majestically above the Straits of Mackinac, where for 50 years it's spanned Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Nearly 141 million vehicles have crossed the Mackinac Bridge since it opened to traffic in November 1957, replacing car ferries that operated there for about three decades. Today, the Mighty Mac is many things to many people. Some call it a symbol of Michigan and a national landmark, a destination for millions of tourists. For others, it's the passageway to family, friends, workplaces and vacation spots, a beloved superstructure revered for its beauty. "Every time you see the bridge is amazing. To see it as the sun rises, to watch sunsets behind it, to see fog roll in, engulf the bridge and then lift away. You never get tired of seeing it or driving over it, at least I don't,” said Jean Hunt, who owns two locations of Mackinaw Pastie and Cookie Co. in Mackinaw City. Hunt has lived in Mackinaw City for 35 years and knows well the bridge's ability to lure visitors to the area. But it draws more than tourists, including local residents who often come up with the flimsiest of reasons to cross to the other side. "I love to drive over it. I intentionally go shopping or to breakfast in St. Ignace every chance I get,” she said. History and maintenance The Mackinac Bridge cost $70 million to build, including $26 million for the foundations and $44 million for the steel. Construction began in 1954 after bonds were sold to fund the bridge, designed by renowned engineer David Steinman. "Some people thought nothing could withstand the winds in the Straits,” said Kim Nowack, chief bridge engineer. The Mackinac Bridge was built for strong gusts to pass through it, overcoming challenges of aerodynamic stability for suspension bridges. There's very little solid surface for the wind to push against and move, she said. But move it does. Nowack said all the parts of the bridge are designed to give in to pressures from traffic and weather; it's able to sway up, down and from side-to-side. "See the finger-joints open and close with heavy traffic,” she said from a perch inside the base of the bridge's south tower. "It does that continually.” The bridge's total span is five miles, making it the third-longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest in the Western Hemisphere. The towers stretch 552 feet above water level and tower piers plunge 210 feet to the floor of the Straits of Mackinac. "When I look at it, I still think how beautiful it is. It's a gorgeous bridge,” said J.C. Stilwell of Mackinaw City, one of the original ironworkers who spent 42 months helping to construct the Mackinac Bridge. "The challenge was to stay alive up there because you're in a bad situation most of the time and could get killed. We were working from 100 to 552 feet up. The higher you went, the softer you talked,” Stilwell said. Keeping the bridge in good condition through the years, capable of handling the constant flow of traffic and the effects of harsh northern Michigan weather conditions, is the job of more than three dozen engineering and maintenance workers. An annual regular maintenance allowance of nearly $3 million helps workers keep pace with the aging structure, Nowack said. Jeff Fogelsonger spent the last 15 years working as a Mackinac Bridge welder and recently made repairs to the bumper rail that runs along the bridge's outer lanes. "It's in pretty good shape, but it is 50 years old, so there are some parts that have to be replaced,” he said. Beam repairs below the bridge are done from April to November and major re-painting efforts have been underway for years. Existing lead-based paint must be safely removed and kept from falling into and contaminating the lakes. The bridge's southern span was repainted for $11 million, while the center span will cost $18 million to complete over three years. Next will be the northern end, Nowack said. Steeplejack Todd Mayer has spent much of his seven years at the bridge among its many cables, high above the traffic and flowing waters. He often walks down the main cables to paint, change light bulbs and other repairs. "It's a neat experience. I think it's fantastic, the picture postcard landscape changes every hour: the water, the weather, the boats,” Mayer said as he calmly stood atop the south tower as high-wind warning signs flashed for the motorists hundreds of feet below. Bridge oddities Kristine McDonald sits in a toll booth at the northern end of the bridge, taking money and making change for motorists bound for the U.P. She has worked at the Mackinac Bridge for 16 years. "I have lots of regulars, commuters and truck drivers who come back again and again,” McDonald said, between a "hi there,” and "have a great day.” Busy days can bring as many as 400 vehicles to her toll booth and most motorists are friendly, "unless they lost at the casino,” she said with a laugh. McDonald said toll collectors occasionally encounter strange folks, like a man with an unconscious deer beneath a blanket in the front seat of his pickup truck. Or, there was a large, tattooed man whose pet lizard walked down his arm to pay the bridge fare. Perhaps her most bizarre encounter was with the man who rode with a goat in the front seat and three children in the back of a covered truck, she said. "Midnights are strange. Most of this happened on midnights,” McDonald said. Bruce Sweeney has been a toll collector for 35 years and said one vehicle truly baffled bridge workers many years ago. "The covered wagon: we didn't know what to charge him. He said he was traveling the country by horse and wagon,” Sweeney said. Some drivers even manage to cross the bridge without the needed $2.50 fare for passenger vehicles. "It's amazing how many people don't have at least that much money in their cars with them,” said Dean Steiner, bridge services manager. McDonald said she gets an occasional unacceptable offer of payment. "We get people trying to pay with pop cans, or offering to trade CDs or something,” she said. So now those without cash can use credit cards in the Mackinac Bridge Authority office near the toll booths. Another occasional oddity is when people get turned around or completely lost on the freeway and eventually come to realize their mistake at the bridge. "I had a woman driving from Cleveland to Detroit end up here once. Somebody else once asked if this was the way to Florida after they'd driven north on Interstate 75 for eight hours,” McDonald said. 50th anniversary celebration The Mighty Mac is turning 50 years old and there's going to be a party. A lineup of festivities will be held on the St. Ignace side of the bridge the last weekend in July. Events will include an unveiling of the 50th anniversary bridge token, slide shows, ironworker demonstrations and 50 convertibles to cross the bridge for parades in both downtown St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. "Fifty years is significant for any bridge,” said Bob Sweeney, administrator for the Mackinac Bridge Authority. He said northern Michigan was a very rural area to get such a large bridge built at the time. The bridge is magnificent enough, he said, that people are still in awe of it today. "It's a tourist attraction in itself. People come here to drive across the bridge and take in the views,” Sweeney said. For more details about the 50th anniversary celebration on July 27 and 28, concluding with fireworks over the Straits of Mackinac, visit www.mackinacbridge.org.
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