SAINT IGNACE (WWJ) You could be the proud owner of a piece of the Mackinac Bridge.
The Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) is auctioning sections of original steel grating of the historic suspension bridge that joins the Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
It might be hard to find room for them in your living room— and they won’t fit on your mantle— as the grating sections weigh an average of about two tons (4,000 pounds) and measure 5 1/2 feet by 38 feet by five inches.
They range in starting price from $1,225 and and $2,225— with bid increments of $25. The auction, on GovDeals.com, ends on January 21.
According to the description on the auction page, the vintage grating was “originally coated in lead-based paint.”
“Much of this is gone, but Buyer will have to sign a ‘Hold Harmless agreement’ related to the lead paint and the structural condition of the grating,” the description reads.
The buyer will have the option to have the grate cut into two shorter pieces for easier shipping—and the cutting is wrapped into the price of the bid. The auction site says the seller—the MBA— will not make any other changes to the grating.
All proceeds go toward maintenance for the Mackinac Bridge.
Small sections of grate from the bridge—measuring 5” by 11” or 5” by 8”—went on sale on December 12th for $20. They are only available at the Mackinac Bridge’s administration office, open round the clock. There’s a limit of three per customer.
The Mackinac Bridge’s origin story dates back to 1884, even though it did not open to traffic until over seven decades later.
According to the bridge’s official website; an editorial published in a Lansing newspaper in 1884 called out the need to for a bridge or tunnel to create a “great east-west route” throughout Michigan. That same year, a store owner in St. Ignace reprinted a rendering of the Brooklyn Bridge (built in 1883 in New York City) and wrote— “Proposed Bridge across the Straits of Mackinac.”
The next seven decades would see countless setbacks in the quest for funding, materials and more.
However, by the early 1950s, the Mackinac Bridge Authority would be appointed and investors across the country bought nearly $100 million in Mackinac Bridge bonds—paving the way for it to become a reality.
The American Bridge Division of United States Steel Corporation and Merritt-Chapman & Scott Cooperation, armed with over 70 million dollars in contracts combined, began the necessary planning for the “mobilization of the largest bridge construction fleet ever assembled," their website saiid.
Learn more about its history here
Construction started on May 7, 1954.
The final structure (designed by engineer Dr. David B. Steinman) would measure 552 feet high at its peak, weigh over 100-million tons, with more than 42,000 miles of cables. According to its website, the "Mighty Mac" is the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world at five miles, and the longest in the western hemisphere.
It opened to traffic on November 1, 1957.
The 100-millionth vehicle crossed in 1998.
In November of last year, more than 280,000 vehicles journeyed across Mackinac Bridge.