Beneath Big Mac
The Mackinac Bridge ("Big Mac"), spans the Straits of Mackinac and connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Before it's opening in 1957, ferry boats were the only way to cross the Straits . That often led to miles-long traffic jams.
Big Mac, one of the world's longest suspension bridges (it was the longest when it was built) is nearly 5 miles long, including the approaches in Mackinaw City and St. Ignace .
The week after we left Mackinaw City, a severe storm tipped over a large truck, leaving it to lean on the railing. In 1989, a woman driving a "Yugo" was blown off of the bridge, plunging into the 250 foot deep water below the bridge. Exceptionally high winds are common, and the shape of the bridge deck is similar to an air foil (like an airplane's wing) which would cause the bridge to lift in a cross wind. To counter-act the lift, an open-grid was used for the bridge's roadway between the two towers.
Beneath Big Mac
The Mackinac Bridge ("Big Mac"), spans the Straits of Mackinac and connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Before it's opening in 1957, ferry boats were the only way to cross the Straits . That often led to miles-long traffic jams.
Big Mac, one of the world's longest suspension bridges (it was the longest when it was built) is nearly 5 miles long, including the approaches in Mackinaw City and St. Ignace .
The week after we left Mackinaw City, a severe storm tipped over a large truck, leaving it to lean on the railing. In 1989, a woman driving a "Yugo" was blown off of the bridge, plunging into the 250 foot deep water below the bridge. Exceptionally high winds are common, and the shape of the bridge deck is similar to an air foil (like an airplane's wing) which would cause the bridge to lift in a cross wind. To counter-act the lift, an open-grid was used for the bridge's roadway between the two towers.