The Amazing Mighty Mac!
If you are a Michigander, either a troll or a yooper, chances are you love our beautiful Mackinac Bridge. Since its construction, the Mackinac Bridge has facilitated the traffic between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan, bringing all Michiganders together.
If you are not a Michigander, however, chances are you have never even heard about the Mighty Mac. When we say “suspension bridge”, you think Golden Gate. I am here to try and change that a little with this post. After reading The Mighty Facts about our green bridge, send me a message and let me know what you think.
Let’s get to them!
- The Mackinac Bridge is almost 5 miles long. The Golden Gate pales in comparison, with only 1.7 miles of length.
- The Mackinac Bridge sits over the Straits of Mackinac, serving as a “separator” between two of our beloved lakes: Michigan to the west, Huron to the east. The Golden Gate bridge sits over the San Francisco bay and connects San Francisco to Marin County, creating easier access to and from SF.
- The Mackinac Bridge’s total weight is 1,024,500 tons. The Golden Gate is 887,000 tons.
- The Mackinac Bridge was open to traffic in 1957. The Golden Gate opened 20 years prior to that, in 1937.
- The Mackinac Bridge is almost always scenic and very visible from both sides of the straits. The Golden Gate is always fighting with fog and for that reason, you won’t always get a good view of the bridge.
- A point worth mentioning in favor of the Golden Gate bridge is that it’s pedestrian friendly. For trolls and yoopers the situation is a little different. The only day we get to walk on the Mighty Mac is Labor Day, on an event especially for that.
- In the winter, the Mackinac Bridge looks amazing behind a vastitude of blue ice — a Michigan winter phenomenon.
- The Mighty Mac counts a few other impressive facts due to its location that makes it a true engineering wonder. It was designed and built to withstand an infinite amount of wind and and massive ice build up on and around the bridge. It is absolutely windproof in terms of stability against all types of oscillations.
- The two foundations measure 115 by 135 ft. (that’s almost a third of a football field). There’s also a massive amount of construction underwater. Approximately 750,000 lbs. of the 1 million tons of concrete and steel in the Mighty Mac are underwater.
- Last but not least, you can only see the Auroras dance behind one of these two bridges. Can you tell which one? 🙂
Kudos to our Mighty Mac!
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