Mighty Mac

 

The Mackinac Bridge, spanning the Straits of Mackinac opened in 1957 and remains the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere. The 26,372-foot-long bridge is familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac." Spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of  Michigan, the bridge is part of Interstate 75. 

The dedication of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 gave Mackinac Bridge backers encouragement. A reprinted story from the Grand Traverse Herald pointed out that the experiment to provide year-round service across the Straits by ferry boat had failed. If a great east-west route were ever to be established through Michigan, a bridge or tunnel would be required. After many decades, the five-mile bridge, including approaches, did not officially begin until 1954. Designed by the engineer, Dr. David B. Steinman, the nearly 26 million agreement to build led to the mobilization of the largest bridge construction fleet ever assembled. Prior to the bridge, traffic could be backed up nearly 16 miles waiting for one of nine automobile ferries to carry them across the straits. 

Note: The Algonquian peoples living in the straits area prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century, called this region Michilimackinac, which is widely understood to mean the Great Turtle. This is thought to refer to the shape of what is now called Mackinac (pronounced MAK-in-aw) Island.