The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan became the longest with a total suspension of 12,826 feet. The Great Belt Bridge in Halsskov-Sprogoe, Denmark, which also opened in 1998, is the second longest suspension bridge in the world with a total suspension of 8,921 feet. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet. The length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier is 7,400 feet. Length of main span (between towers) is 3,800 feet.
…The height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level.
The bridge began construction in May 1954 and was opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. Mackinac, from Michilimackinac, is an Iroquois term for strait, adapted by the French and pronounced Mackinaw, which is the English spelling.
This photo was taken from the northern side, alas further from the suspension part of the bridge. Lake Michigan is in the foreground; Lake Huron beyond the bridge. Click image for a larger version.
While many states have islands, no other state is divided into two land masses like Michigan. It’s lower peninsula, shaped like a left-handed mitten, has 97% of the people and two-thirds of the land. The Upper Peninsula — more commonly the U.P. — remains one of the most rural areas in the U.S., its economy dependent on tourism and logging since its mines have closed. Many long-time residents descend from Scandinavian and Finnish miners who first settled the area.
And a favorite food is the pastie (pronounced pah-stie, not pay-stie). It’s a Cornish dish of meat, potatoes and other vegetables baked in a thick crust. A yummy lunch for miners and road-trippers.
The toll was $3. The toll taker took one look at us in the Z with the top down on a beautiful day and said, “I’d always heard that life was unfair, but this is too much.”
The best detail, I think, is that the yoopers (i.e., those living in the U.P.) refer to those living in the mitten as “trolls”, because the live under the bridge.
My mother-in-law hails from the U.P. (Iron River), and she made pasties a few times when I was over for dinner. They are delicious. No doubt she made them more often while she was raising four boys on her own. However, I prefer the Russian version I had while living in Sonoma County, CA, something called peroshkies. They were not as dry as pasties, (although it’s entirely possible the individual cooks had something to do with the differences in dryness.) Costco used to carry a frozen version of this food-type called an Aussie Pie that was delicious–sort of like a hand-held chicken pot pie, only better than any pot pie I ever bought in a store. They were convenient to take for a meal at work. I don’t know what ever happened to them.