By David J. OlsonThe story of the Mackinac Bridge is more than just cars and
concrete or men and machines. It is a tale with heroes and
villains filled with suspense, drama, and disappointment. It is
also a magnificent achievement. With its official opening on
November 1, 1957, by Governor G. Mennen Williams, one era was
ended and another begun. As one prosaic representative noted,
"The North and South of the state have long been engaged; they
now have a wedding ring!"
This marriage was long awaited. For, though scenic, the water
which geographically separates the Upper and Lower Peninsulas
has also caused economic, political, and cultural divisions as
well. Thus, because of necessity, interest soon developed for
bridging the Straits. As early as 1884, proponents of
construction like the editor of the Grand Traverse Herald
plumped for such a structure. Even so noteworthy a person as
Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt called for action. Standing
before a board of directors meeting at the Grand Hotel, he
summed up his feelings, declaring that "what we need is a bridge
across the Straits."
Though needed, the bridge was not built in the nineteenth
century. Still, interest was not extinguished. It lingered,
waiting to be rekindled. And, rekindled it was. Buoyed by
automobile production in the 1920s, advocates again pushed for a
Straits bridge. It was foolish, they argued, that such modern
means of transportation like the automobile depended on outdated
ferry service.
Several ideas were put forward. One, promoted by Horatio
"Good Roads" Earle, Michigan's first state highway commissioner,
called for a floating tunnel. Another, urged by Charles Evan
Fowler, called for a series of causeways and bridges beginning
at a point near Cheboygan, across to Bois Blanc Island to Round
Island, over the west tip of Mackinac Island, and then across
the channel to St. Ignace.
Highly imaginative and somewhat far-fetched, ideas like these
were based on the prevailing assumption that the direct course
from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace was unsuited for bridge
construction. The direct route, as engineers and skeptics alike
believed, was impossible to build a bridge over. Current theory
maintained that the area rock could not support the structure's
weight, and even if it could, the elements would destroy
anything that could be erected.
In the face of these arguments, proponents of a bridge stood
defenseless. Though the State Highway Department funded and
published a report in 1928 stating that a bridge directly across
the Straits would cost $30,000,000, no further action was taken.
Thus the 1920s faded into the 1930s with little progress
toward a Straits bridge. The passing of time brought with it
renewed hope, however. For in the 1930s the Great Depression
occurred, and with it came the possibility of federal public
works funds. Enamored with the possibility of federal aid, the
Michigan Legislature created a Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority
in 1934. Organized to investigate the possibility of building a
bridge, to issue bonds, to build a bridge, and to operate it,
they presented two plans to federal authorities. Both failed.
The first plan, a revision of the Fowler island hopping scheme,
was presented to the Public Works Administration in 1935. It was
rejected. The second, covering a direct route, was sent to the
Works Progress Administration in September of 1936. It, too, was
rejected.
Disappointed but undaunted, the Bridge Authority pushed
forward. They contracted with the long-span bridge engineering
firm of Modjeski and Masters in 1937. This contract called for
the Authority to furnish relevant data for a route from Mackinaw
City to St. Ignace, and for the engineering firm to provide a
construction report based on that information. Once soundings
and borings were taken, traffic data were obtained, and
geological studies were done, the information was turned over to
Modjeski and Masters.
The report which resulted from this study did not disappoint
bridge advocates. Instead, it judged that construction was
possible, probably at a cost of around $24,340,000. In addition,
it also called for the building of a causeway from St. Ignace
4,200 feet south into shallow water.
To help implement the plan, the Highway Department, acting
for the Bridge Authority, contracted for a causeway, which was
completed in 1941. With this done, it seemed as if the bridge
might be built. But, just when construction seemed possible,
World War 11 broke out, putting an end to work. Worse yet, with
enthusiasm fading, the Legislature abolished the Bridge
Authority in 1947. Soon afterward funds were appropriated to
construct an ice-breaker ferry capable of carrying 150 vehicles.
It was expected that this measure would take care of the
foreseeable demand for Straits crossing service.
Though all seemed lost, proponents of a Straits of Mackinac
Bridge did not give up. Instead they formed an InterPeninsula
Communication Council to drum up public opinion in support of
the bridge and to resurrect the Bridge Authority. Eventually
they were successful, for in 1950, the Authority was re-formed
with former United States Senator Prentiss M. Brown at its head.
Born and raised in St. Ignace, Prentiss M. Brown had long
recognized the political, cultural, and economic difficulties
spawned by the inadequate transportation across the Straits. He
had fought for the bridge during his Washington tenure,
personally appealing to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. So when
the opportunity presented itself, Brown was the natural choice
to be chairman of the newly reconstituted Bridge Authority in
1950. It proved to be a wise choice.
In the beginning, the mandate given the Mackinac Bridge
Authority was thin. Possessed with only the power to study the
feasibility of construction, they had no authority to finance or
construct. Despite these limitations, the Bridge Authority
remained undaunted. To answer the age old question of whether a
bridge could withstand the area's natural elements they called
upon three leading experts on wide-span bridges. By January of
1951, the experts had delivered a report which said that not
only could a bridge be built but that it could be placed along
the direct north/south route, utilizing the 1941 causeway.
Armed with these favorable reports, the Bridge Authority
returned to the legislature asking for the power to finance and
construct a bridge across the Straits. Though convinced of their
proposal's value, the Authority did not win quick approval. The
legislative battle lasted for several months during early 1952,
with antagonists lining up on either side of the issue. Those
who opposed the bridge cited several reasons. For one, they
maintained, this structure was too costly and could not possibly
be justified for such a sparsely populated area. For another,
they mentioned reputable engineers who doubted that a bridge
could be built.
Of course, proponents of the Straits of Mackinac Bridge
argued their case too. The idea that such a structure could not
be built was bunk, they declared. After all, had not all current
studies pointed to the fact that neither existing rock nor
climate conditions would hinder the project. Furthermore, the
bridge would be a shot in the arm for the Upper Peninsula,
ending traffic tie-ups and bringing more tourists and hunters
providing for an economic resurgence.
Eventually bridge proponents prevailed. With one more than a
two-thirds majority, Public Act 214 sped through the
legislature. Signed into law by the Governor on April 30, 1952,
this Act had immediate effect, authorizing the Mackinac Bridge
Authority to bond, build and operate a toll bridge.
If getting legislative approval was difficult, securing funds
to build the Mackinac Bridge was even worse. Because of
constitutional and legislative restrictions, the Bridge
Authority had to sell the bonds on the open market. This proved
painful because the bond market was generally poor during 1953
and 1954. So bad was the market that bond sales had to be
postponed twice.
On the third try, the Bridge Authority was successful but
barely. In a revised plan, introduced in December of 1953, bonds
were sold in two series. One, the so-called first lien bonds,
would be issued in the amount of $79,800,000 with a four percent
interest rate. Another, called second lien bonds, was to have an
interest rate of five percent. As required by law, these offers
had to be subject not only to public sale but to approval of the
State Administrative Board. It was there in mid-December that
trouble began--a difficulty so ill-timed that the project almost
failed.
At the meeting with the Administrative Board and the Bridge
Authority on December 15, 1953, one Board member opposed the
financing methods. He maintained that the financing was too
expensive and that the whole question should be brought before
the voters. Fortunately, before a vote could be taken, this
meeting was postponed.
Yet the postponement of this meeting did end the trouble. On
December 16, Senator Haskell Nichols of Jackson filed a petition
with the State Supreme Court asking it to prevent the
Administrative Board from approving the sale. Before any action
could be taken, members of the Bridge Authority saw court
officials, asking them not to block the bonds. The argument was
that a complete court hearing could be held between December 17,
1953 (the date of sale of the bonds) and February 17, 1954 (the
date of the delivery of the bonds). This was done. Subsequently
on January 22, 1954, the court upheld the right to sell the
bonds.
Thus, with the legal impediments removed, bids for Mackinac
Bridge Authority bonds were accepted on December 17, 1953, in
the office of Governor G. Mennen Williams. Immediately after
this meeting, the Bridge Authority approved the sale. And, not
long after, the State Administrative Board convened and voiced
their approval too.
At long last, the hoped for bridge could be built. Following
ceremonial groundbreaking which took place on May 7 and May 8,
respectively at St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, work began.
The first construction challenge awaiting them was to
establish precise locations for each of the thirty-four bridge
support foundations. This was done by establishing eight land
and six sea-based surveying stations. From these positions, the
surveyor utilized triangulation techniques to plot the exact
position for each bridge section.
While this work was being done, the largest armada in the
history of marine construction equipment was assembled at the
Straits in 1954. Others had begun assembling caissons and
superstructures as far off as Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The actual building of the bridge was exacting and
challenging. One of the most serious challenges went to the
builders of the foundations--Merritt-Chapman & Scott
Corporation. Piers 17 and 22, the huge anchorages for the
cables, and piers 19 and 20, the support for the 46-story
towers, were difficult. For the tower piers, huge caissons were
filled gradually with rock and cement and lowered carefully to
bedrock with precise calculation. Between the anchorage piers
and the cable tower piers with two cables went piers 18 and 2 1.
These two required huge foundations.
Though work was painstaking, it proceeded well, and the
foundations were finished in 1955. Then, structural steel was
put into place by the American Bridge Division of United States
Steel Corporation. On July 2, 1955, the first piece was put in.
Slowly the shape of the giant towers appeared across the Straits
as creeper cranes pulled up each section and then moved within
themselves. Riveters followed, making the work permanent.
The next phase, putting the support cable in, required the
placing of a catwalk across the span. For, unlike other
structural parts, the cable had to be assembled on-site. Quite
literally, it had to be "spun" one strand at a time, since its
12,500 ton weight could not be lifted.
Looking back on the project, Dr. David B. Steinman, designer
of the Mackinac Bridge, viewed it as the crowning achievement of
his career. It was to him both a remarkable engineering feat and
a work of art. Indeed, he was careful to make sure to preserve
the grace and setting of the structure. He insisted that the 552
foot towers be painted ivory and that the span itself be green,
so that its natural lines would be as graceful as a harp.
What, beyond beauty, has the bridge accomplished? For one, it
has proven its critics wrong. Not only has it been an
engineering success, but its ever increasing traffic has
provided a growing business traffic for the Upper Peninsula. It
has reduced the crossing time, including waiting time, from an
average of one-and-a-half hours in winter or two-and-a-half
hours in summer, to just ten minutes. Because of its capacity of
6,000 cars per hour (compared with the 462 cars per hour
capacity of the state ferry service), the bridge has eliminated
lines of cars which had stretched as long as seventeen miles on
U.S. 27 and seven miles on U.S. 131, which could produce a
waiting period of up to 19 hours. Most important of all, the
bridge has joined the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula,
eliminating a geographical barrier, and has proved the wisdom of
those who guided it through its financing, designing, and
building.
Interesting Facts
