The last step was to construct the road surface. More than 42,000 miles of wire were used in the two main bridge cables! To complete the job and add extra strength, a covering is spun around each finished cable. Each cable consists of 340 wires banded into a single strand 37 strands are then assembled into a single cable. When finished, the cables were close to 25 inches in diameter. Ignace, Mich., during this construction period.Ī "catwalk" made of cyclone fence enabled the workers to navigate between the bridge towers, high above the lake below. When the foundation pillars were finished, the iron workers were brought in to string the massive cabling network! More than 500 workers were housed in St. The caissons had to be sunk down into the bedrock on the lake floor, a great challenge for the divers involved. These cylinders are called caissons (cay-sans). The first step was to sink the large, double-walled cylinders that form the bases of the two main tower piers. The total cost of the project was upwards of $100 million (originally estimated at $70 million).Ĭonstruction began in 1954 and during the 42 months that followed hundreds of men worked on the various phases of the bridge construction.
The construction period: 1954-1957īecause the bridge was in a remote area, financing the project was slow and difficult. Today, the Mackinac Bridge is hailed as one of the most outstanding engineering achievements of the century and leaves people wondering how Michigan ever got along without it! The 100 millionth crossing of the bridge happened on June 25, 1998. Steinman and primary construction firms were Merrit-Chapman & Scott and the American Bridge Division of U.S. Mennen (Soapie) Williams was another strong advocate for the bridge and helped to create the Mackinac Bridge Authority in 1950. Brown, Sr., the "Father of the Mackinac Bridge," was the key figure in the bridge construction project.
Although the bridge was envisioned way back in the late 1800s, Sen.
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