MACKINAC CITY, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – After a year’s hiatus due to COVID 19 health protocols, the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk took place on Monday (Sept. 6, 2021).
According to Mackinac Bridge Authority officials, about 21,000 participated in the event that had taken place every year since the bridge opened in 1958 before the novel coronavirus outbreak. This was down from the average of between 25,000 and 30,000 prior to 2020.
“We weren’t sure what to expect,” admitted MBA Bridge Director Kim Nowack in a Michigan Department of Transportation statement. “Although total participation is less than we’ve had in recent years, there were still thousands of very happy faces on the bridge today, all glad to revive this tradition.”
As has been the case in 2018 and 2019, due to a request from state and federal law enforcement entities, the I-75 bridge that spans Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas was closed to vehicular traffic for five and a half hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 12 Noon. Walkers had the option to go the entire five-mile length, from Mackinac City to St. Ignace, or walk halfway and return back from either end. There were no buses or other supported public transportation options for participants who wanted to walk from one end to the other but not wishing to walk back while the bridge was closed.
NOTE: The time-lapse video accompanying this story was provided by the Michigan Department of Transporation.
