Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10. Mackinac Bridge
Tooling south on I-75, the drive arrives at St. Ignace, which juts into the Straits of Mackin-
ac.EachsummeraboutamilliontouristssurgethroughthishistoriccrossroadsoftheGreat
Lakes, where massive chunks of Michigan geography—the Upper Peninsula, the Lower
Peninsula, Mackinac Island, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron—converge like pieces of a
colossal jigsaw puzzle. It's not hard to see why this stunning confluence of land and water
playedastrategicrolefortheNewWorldempiresofFranceandEnglandduringtheFrench
and Indian Wars and during the War of 1812.
For nearly two centuries the straits area was an important fur-trading center, until fish-
ing became the main industry in the 1830s. Today you can vault the straits by car in 10
carefree minutes on the Mackinac Bridge. The “bridge that couldn't be built” opened in
1957, casting its ribbon of steel across five watery miles. Known locally as Mighty Mac, it
is one of the longest suspension bridges ever erected.
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