The Robert Byrd Memorial ... Oh, wait! Wrong state!
Please Disregard.
Our Big Mac has never gotten the recognition it deserved. It had the unfortunate fate of being built in a sparsely populated area of northern Michigan.
It was the worlds longest single span suspension bridge at just over 5 miles including approaches until two longer bridges of the same type were completed in Japan in about 95.
It's a true engeneering marvel and I get a thrill everytime I cross it.
Go here: http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0705/240966.html for an article about the bridge and check out the pic they used. LOL
My wife is from Charleston and I always hated driving over the "old" Cooper River bridge. It always struck as an exceptional rickity old thing...of course I grew up in the desert in Arizona so driving over large bodies of deep water was a pretty alien concept to me!
Total Length of Bridge (5 Miles) 26,372 Ft.
Total Length of Steel Superstructure 19,243 Ft.
Length of Suspension Bridge (including Anchorages) 8,614 Ft.
Total Length of North Approach 7,129 Ft.
Length of Main Span (between Main Towers) 3,800 Ft.
Am I not reading this correctly? According to these figures, Mighty Mac is bigger. Somebody correct or confirm...this will drive me crazy as I pack up the schoolroom!
"Its main span is 20 feet longer than the Alex Fraser Bridge in Victoria, British Columbia, which had been the longest on the continent."
Wrong info. The Alex Fraser Bridge is in the South Surrey/Delta area - part of the Greater Vancouver area. Victoria is on the island, an hour and a half away be ferry.
I know - I live in South Burnaby, and see the Alex Fraser bridge outside my window.
Height above canyon floor: 1053 ft.
Drive on this one some time, Family and I did it in 1971. Scary, you can bet it was!.
The old Cooper River Bridge.
