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The bridge opened on November 1, 1957, [10] connecting two peninsulas linked for decades by ferries. At the time, the bridge was formally dedicated as the "world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages", allowing a superlative comparison to the Golden Gate Bridge, which has a longer center span between towers, and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, which has an anchorage in the middle.
The Mackinac Bridge was opened to traffic on November 1, 1957; [45] a new section of freeway and an interchange connected US 2 to the bridge on the northern end, and a new approach road connected to U.S. Route 31 in Michigan and US 27 in Mackinaw City on the southern end. [46]
The post-war years were also a period of major bridge building in the state. The Mackinac Bridge opened on November 1, 1957, [84] the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, the largest double-deck lift bridge was completed in August 1959, [85] and the International Bridge opened across the St. Marys River three years later on October 31, 1962. [86]
With the two backstay spans, the Mackinac Bridge is 8,614 feet (2,626 m) long between cable anchorages, the longest in the world at the time it opened. [ e ] The total length of the structure is 26,444 feet (8,060 m) with two 555-foot-tall (169 m) towers and 155 feet (47 m) of clearance for passing ships under the main span. [ 131 ]
[50] [51] Both bypasses would later be upgraded to four-lane freeways by 1961, with the Saginaw one later incorporated into the route of I-75. [52] When the Mackinac Bridge opened on November 1, 1957, US 23, US 27 and US 31 were extended along the access roadways to the foot of the bridge. [53]
A new survey ranks Michigan's Mighty Mac among the nation's top 10 most scenic bridges. The Mackinac Bridge ranked seventh nationwide, falling within the top 10 of a 100-bridge ranking.
Many visitors to Mackinac decide to ride the approximately 8.2-mile state highway, M-185, around the island. The road is paved, with lines guiding traffic, and is a fairly easy ride with only a ...
The highway crossed the Straits of Mackinac by ferry for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s before the Mackinac Bridge was built, connecting to US 2 north of St. Ignace. Later, sections were converted into freeways starting in the 1950s. These segments opened through the subsequent decades with the last one opening in 2022.