Mackinac Bridge

Click "Erecting Pier 20, Mackinac Bridge" to view an enlarged version of the image.

It's been fifty years since the Mackinac Bridge's completion. It took years of planning and construction to reach that moment.

This photo reflects some of the effort involved. Richard L. Tyler took it in October, 1955. He labeled it "Erecting Pier 20." At the time, Tyler was a Geological Inspector for the David B. Steinman Company.

David B. Steinman was the engineer who designed the bridge. Many considered him "the world's foremost bridge designer and engineer." He had a hand in designing over 400 bridges worldwide, but considered the Mighty Mac his "crowning achievement." (Click David B. Steinman to read the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor description of Steinman.) An American Society of Civil Engineers biography notes that Steinman designed the Mackinac Bridge with stiffened trusses and open-grid airways, allowing it to withstand higher wind velocities. (Click American Society of Civil Engineers to read this biography.)

Construction officially began at St. Ignace and Mackinaw City on May 7 and 8, 1954. The Mackinac Bridge Authority's web site notes that the operation involved "the largest bridge construction fleet ever assembled." 3,500 men toiled in the Straits and an additional 7,500 worked off site - at quarries, shops, mills and other venues. Their labor produced a structure five miles in total length. The actual suspension length (i.e., the length of the bridge between anchorages) is a remarkable 8,614 feet! The Mackinac Bridge weighs a total of 1,024,500 tons, and the main towers jut 552 feet above the water. (These facts - and more - can be found at the Mackinac Bridge Authority's official web site. Click Mackinac Bridge Authority to visit the site.).

The Mighty Mac officially opened for traffic on November 1, 1957. 2007 marks the fiftieth anniversary for this great engineering marvel. For more of the bridge's history, be sure to pick up Michigan History Magazine's special Mackinac Bridge issue, on sale July, 2007. Click Michigan History Magazine for ordering information.

The Mackinac Bridge's fiftieth anniversary will be observed in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City July 26-27, 2007. Click Mackinac Bridge Anniversary Observance for more details. During the event, Michigan Oral History Association members (including Archives of Michigan staff) will be conducting oral history interviews on site at St. Ignace. Individuals who planned, photographed and worked on the bridge's construction from 1954 to 1957 will be interviewed. The recorded interviews - and resulting transcripts - will be permanently retained within the Archives of Michigan. Click Oral History Project for more details on the event.

-Bob Garrett, Archivist
E-mail: garrettr1@michigan.gov

Click Archives of Michigan to visit the Archives of Michigan home page.

Click Archives Image of the Month to view archived image pages.

Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone: (517) 373-1408
E-mail: archives@michigan.gov

This page is the Archives Image of the Month page for July 2007.