[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 122 (Friday, July 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO THE MACKINAC BRIDGE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 27, 2007

  Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a daring feat of 
technology, design and architecture. This week, the mighty Mackinac 
Bridge turns 50 and, this weekend, the people of the State of Michigan 
will celebrate the bridge's remarkable legacy.
  Before the construction of the bridge, the only way to cross the 
Straits of Mackinac was by ferry. The area around the Straits of 
Mackinac had blossomed into a popular summer resort destination. 
However, year-round boat service across the straits was not practical 
because, during the cold winters, the waters freeze, forming ice and 
preventing navigation of the straits. For this reason, as early as the 
opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, the residents of northern 
Michigan were inspired to dream of a bridge that would span the Straits 
of Mackinac and unite Michigan's two peninsulas.
  Nonetheless, it would be several decades before the plans for the 
bridge began to take shape. The process began formally in 1934, when 
the Michigan Legislature created the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority 
of Michigan, to study the feasibility of a bridge, and authorized the 
Authority to sell bonds for the project. In the mid 1930s, the 
Authority twice attempted to obtain federal funds for the project but 
was unsuccessful, despite the endorsement of the United States Army 
Corps of Engineers and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As early as 
1936, a route was determined for the bridge. However, World War II put 
plans for a bridge on hold.
  The Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority of Michigan was abolished by 
the state legislature in 1947 but was reauthorized 3 years later in 
1950. In June 1950, a board of three engineers was retained for the 
project. Following a report by the engineers in January 1951, the state 
legislature authorized the sale of $85 million in bonds for bridge 
construction. The bonds were sold and, in 1953, Dr. David B. Steinman 
was selected as the engineer for the project. Construction of the 
Mackinac Bridge began in November of 1954.
  The next 3 years would bring a pitched battle between man and the 
elements. Engineers and ironworkers would defy nature by building a 
structure that would span 26,000 feet or approximately 5 miles. Not 
only would the bridge's five miles make it one of the longest 
suspension bridges in the world, but also the surrounding environs made 
the bridge's engineering, design and construction a formidable 
challenge. While most bridges cross placid water, the turbulent straits 
of Mackinac are ocean-like, often kicking up waves of more than six 
feet. The brutal northern Michigan winters further complicated 
construction.
  These were the challenging conditions faced by the men and women who 
built the Mackinac Bridge. The 2,500 ironworkers and other tradesmen 
that built the bridge arrived at the Mackinac Straits from across the 
country and the small Michigan towns of St. Ignace and Mackinaw City 
were not quite ready for the workers' arrival. The laborers came from 
across the nation, hailing from hometowns in Texas, Idaho, Pennsylvania 
and Colorado. The laborers who built the bridge called each other by 
colorful nicknames such as Race Horse Roberts and Beer-Barrel Morgan. 
Together, they would toil tirelessly and bravely, risking life and limb 
to erect the bridge. Ultimately, five of them would perish in this 
endeavor.

  The risks these workers endured were enormous. Everyday, they climbed 
to the top of the towers that would support the bridge's suspension 
cables. Lugging 40-pound belts with hammers, wrenches, bolts and steel 
rivets they braved 60 mile per hour winds, which would dip the wind 
chill to 50 degrees below zero.
  Perched on a catwalk that ran between the bridge's 550-foot tall 
towers, the ironworkers strung the giant suspension cable from tower to 
tower. The cables that hold up the Mackinac Bridge are comprised of 
wires the workers spun together to create the suspension cables. In 
total, the laborers that built the bridge strung 42,000 miles of wire. 
In constructing the bridge, they used more than a million tons of 
concrete and steel. The steel is held together by 4.8 million rivets 
and a million bolts.
  In 1957, construction was complete and, on November of that year, the 
bridge was opened to traffic. Today, 50 years later the Mackinac Bridge 
continues to tower over the Straits of Mackinac, a testament to those 
who toiled and died to build it. Travelers driving toward it during the 
day are awed by the 46-story tall towers stretching into the clouds. By 
night, when illuminated with thousands of lights, the bridge is an 
enchanting sight.
  The Mackinac Bridge stands as a mighty monument. It stands as a 
testament to the hard work not only of 2,500 tradesmen and ironworkers 
that built the bridge, but also to the 7,500 workers at quarries, shops 
and mills in Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New Jersey 
who provided the raw materials to make the bridge. The Mackinac Bridge 
symbolizes American ingenuity and man's ability to overcome and tame 
nature. Perhaps most of all, the Mackinac Bridge represents the unison 
of the State of Michigan, two peninsulas, united by a five mile expanse 
of concrete and steel.
  Madam Speaker, this weekend all Michigan residents will officially 
celebrate the Mackinc Bridge's 50th year. Our state will remember the 
ingenuity, brilliance and sacrifice that went into building it. I, too, 
will celebrate as, in the course of traveling my district, I regularly 
crisscross this mighty bridge, sometimes four times in a single day. 
Through wind, rain and snow, I have traveled across and explored the 
Mackinac Bridge from the inside, the outside, from above it and below 
it. No matter how many times a person crosses the bridge, it always 
remains a breathtaking sight and a graceful engineering feat! My 
district is comprised of Michigan's two peninsulas and 1,613 miles of 
shoreline. Traveling my district would be radically different, and 
almost impossible, without the Mackinac Bridge, which unites the two 
peninsulas and all of Michigan's citizens, physically and spiritually.
  Madam Speaker, as Michigan celebrates the Mackinac Bridge's 50th 
birthday, I ask that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives 
join me in paying tribute to this wondrous and uniquely American 
landmark and to the brave laborers from across our Nation who built it.

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