MACKINAC BRIDGE - the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere
While driving through Michigan state, we passed close to Mackinac bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. If I am not mistaken, this is the 3rd longest suspended bridge in the world.
It has 7,400 feet of roadway above the straits of Mackinac. Can you imagine driving on a close to five miles long bridge?
In case you were wondering where this jewel is located, you can find it on Interstate 75 in northern Michigan at the Straits of Mackinac. This amazing bridge connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.
At the South end of the bridge there is Mackinaw City. On its other end (the North one) there is St. Ignace.
The "Mighty Mac" was open to traffic in 1957. The construction of this five-miles-long bridge took close to three years.
On the bridge there are cameras for the traffic as well as other devices that monitor the monitoring wind speeds at various points along the structure.
All drivers are invited by the Mackinac Bridge Authority to tune to AM radio 530 or 1610 for updates.
When the winds are strong in the straits area, warnings are issued for vehicles vulnerable to high winds (pickup trucks with campers, motor homes, vehicles pulling trailers and enclosed semi-truck trailers).
Thus you will need to reduce your speed to 20 miles per hour , turn on your flashing lights and use the outside lane.
I heard that some drivers are reluctant to drive over this bridge and they requested for assistance.
Would you be afraid of driving on the "Mighty Mac"?
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Unless stated otherwise, all photos used in this posts are taken and owned by myself. If you wish to use any of my images, please contact me!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave your feedback in the comments, I would love to hear your thoughts!
I would guess that a lot of the traffic that goes across this bridge will be going one direction or another over the SSM International Bridge, which has only one lane in either direction and not much extra, and I find much scarier.
On the south side of the Mackinac there's a park where you can get beneath the bridge, and it's beautiful in winter.
Wow! It looks terrific! Thanks for sharing this photo!
Wow..... The forces am seeing from this picture can can drag one over.
I am sure they can. ;)
I’d drive the hell out of the lucky car if I would get lucky enough to get over there and drive over it. Impressive construction.
It reminded me of the Confederation bridge in Prince Edward Island, but that one is smaller.
Who's the girl in yellow shirt? 😉
Nice pictures @lymepoet 😁
Thanks! That is my niece!
She has cool looking curly hair 😁
Such a cool bridge and great shots of it, I would drive over it
Thanks! I am sure you will one day after you retire and have more time on your hands. ;0)
Maybe, I think I did drive over it once I remember crossing on there that was like this
That is a very big and very nice bridge, but the photos are more interesting to me. Never cared for bridges that much except the fact they are great for connecting people lol. Those strong winds sound scary, I am not sure I would drive there :D
I can imagine how it must be during a snow storm in winter ;0)
Beautiful shots! I'm not sure how I would feel about traversing this bridge. I suppose it would depend on the day but in the right conditions it could be thrilling!
I imagine that during winter it's quite an adventure to do the crossing!
I love it when in other countries everything seems to be so planned, it's like giving you all the tools to not fail, in my country we have several suspension bridges, when you cross them it's a mixture of feelings and excitement, including fear, but they are definitely works worth highlighting, this option is a beauty, thank you for sharing it with me.
It certainly helps when you are provided with the proper information, but even so accidents take place.
Hiya, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in the Travel Digest #209. Please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting the Travel Digest if you like what we're doing.
Thank you!
Now that's a really cool bridge! :D
I loved it too!