Moore

Mackinac Bridge By: Valerie Moore Des pite being spelled M-A-C-K-I-N-A-C The Mackinac Bridge is actually pronounced Mackinaw. Its nick names are Mighty Mac and Big Mac. The name comes from the time of Native Americans who called the whole area "[|Michilimackinac]", meaning "the jumping-off place" or "great road of departure". It also has a famous island conveniently located just north of it with the same name sake; Ma ckinac Island. It also connects a city with a similar pronunciation but different spelling: Mackinaw City, spelled like it sounds with a “W” instead of a “C”, to St. Ignace. media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=mackinac+bridge&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.235538,93.076172&ie=UTF8&hq=Mackinac+Bridge&hnear=Mackinac+Bridge,+Mackinaw+City,+MI&ll=45.814594,-84.724423&spn=0.037329,0.076836&t=h&layer=c&cbll=45.788653,-84.731994&panoid=vHxiGOU2wsS7hAHKO7Osyg&cbp=12,6.14,,0,-0.69&output=svembed" width="425" height="350" align="right" **Building** **the Mighty Mac:** The Mackinac bridge opened on the First of November 1957. It was built to carry cars from the northern peninsula of Michigan to the southern peninsula after ferries were deemed ineffective. The ferries were ineffective for two main reasons; one, the sheer number of cars almos t 9,000 daily, and second the water would freeze over in the winter disabling the boats. It is located in-between lake Michigan and Lake Heron and spans the straits of Mackinac. It cost One hundred media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mackinac+bridge&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.357162,114.169922&ie=UTF8&hq=Mackinac+Bridge&hnear=Mackinac+Bridge,+Mackinaw+City,+MI&ll=45.814594,-84.724423&spn=0.037329,0.076836&t=h&output=embed" width="425" height="350" align="left" Million Dollars to build the Mackinac Bridge. It is made mostly of steel and is classified as a suspension bridge. During construction of the bridge five people died; two in a catwalk collapse on the first day of their job, one died of the bends, o e of head injuries after falling 40 feet, and the last fell of an 18 inch beam but was said to have actually died of a heart attack. Despite folklore none of them were concreted into the bridge. The building of the Mackinaw bridge took three and a half years building only during the four summers because of the weather.
 * The Name:**

__**The Statistics of the Mackinac bridge are:**__ Total length26,372 feet or (8,038m)Width 68.6 feet or (20.9 m) (total width) 54 feet or(16 m) (road width) 38.1 feet or(11.6 m) (depth) Height 522 feet or (159 m) Longest span 3,800 feet or (1,158 m) Vertical clearance 200 feet or(61 m) And Clearance below 155 feet or (47 m) The Mackinac bridge was featured on a Dirty Jobs episode filmed about the cleaning crews on it during 2007. Several documentaries have been made about the Mackinac bridge including one by the History channel. Since the building of the bridge there have been three deaths on it. Two cars went over the bridge; one because of high winds and the other was drove off the bridge which was latter deemed a suicide. The third death was of a maintenance worker who fell off the bridge. It is probable that he did not die off the fall but of the freezing temperatures of the water. To cross the Mackinac bridge you are tolled by how many axels your vehicle has. $3.50 per car axel and 4.50 per truck axel. They are considering razing prices by 50 cents to pay for a renovation. Motorcycles and bikes are not allowed on the bridge but for a small fee they can be driven over. The head engineer in charge of building the Mackinac bridge was David B. Steinman. Problems that faced the engineers were the overall size of the bridge, the fact that it could only be worked on during the summer, and World War two witch postponed construction of the bridge.
 * Mackinac Bridge in the Present**:
 * Engineering Challenges:**