The Mackinac Bridge is an icon for the state of Michigan today. Connecting two small town cities, St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. It is the fifth longest suspension bridge on earth. Designed by David B. Steinmen, the Mackinac Bridge is the only connection between Michigan’s two peninsulas. Steinman set out to create a long, yet flexible design that could sustain Michigan’s harsh winters, heavy winds, and ever changing temperatures. Today, $4 will get you and your car over the Straights of Mackinac without the need for a ferry service. In 1957, Michigan’s travel industry changed forever with the completion of the Mackinac Bridge.
After New York’s Brooklyn bridge was built over the East River in 1883, locals began to imagine a bridge over the Straits of Mackinac. The area surrounding the Straits of Mackinac were becoming a popular tourist stop with the creation of the Mackinac National park on Mackinac Island. Previously travelers would be required to support the ferry industry to travel between the two cities.
In a board of directors meeting of the Grand Hotel, Cornelius Vanderbilt II took action. In 1888 he proposed a bridge be built over the straits of Mackinac connecting the two peninsulas. His proposed design was similar to a suspension bridge in Scotland. His plan would generate more tourism for the region and for the Grand
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The center span of the bridge can move east to west as much as 35 feet. This isn’t a back in forth motion, but a constant wind coming from the west will push the bridge east. The bride would “sway” slowly and not swing back and forth rapidly, and this only happens in such sever figures in high force wind conditions. With thousands of cars and truck using the bridge for transport purposes, it had to be designed to sustain a heavy load. Steinmen allowed for the steel superstructure to hold 40,000 tons of weight on the bridge making it a very