Afraid of heights? Claustrophobic? This is not the trip for you. Take a trip to the top of one of the two giant towers of the Mackinac Bridge. Photographed and edited by Eric Florence, FOX 17. Twitter: @FOX17Traffic
I just happened upon this. Amazing piece, and from someone that is scared of heights and tight spaces, this was terrifying! When you did the vertical shot directly down to the roadway below, I literally gasped so loudly, that I frightened my cats. This was a terrific story! I’m so glad I saw it. Thank you!
I was Blessed and got to go to the top of the MIGHTY MAC, I have to say I loved it, I would love to do it again one day. I was lucky enough o have my 3 sons working on painting renovation of the bridge and a future daughter in law employed by the bridge authority. You guessed it my husband and myself got a first hand private trip of over an hour visit up top. AWSOME!
nprlisten he took an elevator most of the way and climbed a little. not too bad really. go watch someone scaling a cell phone tower. that takes balls. this climb was not scary at all.
Been there, done that. Had the opportunity to go to the top of the North tower when I was in the National Guard. Had a meeting with the Bridge Authority for the Labor day bridge walk and was offered the chance to go up to the top of the bridge. I hate heights, but knew there would NEVER be another chance. I have pictures of me taken on top of the tower. What a wonderful experience.
I have traveled over the Mighty Mack in many ways. I've walked on it, been under it and I've been over it. My dad had an airplane and we used to fly over it and land on Mackinaw Island and spend the day and then fly home. It is awesome and I never get tired of it, I look forward to going up north every summer and travel over it and go up where the upper's live. I am proud that I live in the State of Michigan.
Rob....Incredible images and video photography ! That vertical view looking straight down was 'Gulp' a 'White Knuckle' experience....as I am an Acrophobia type of person. The elevator and passage through the 'Knee Knockers' did not bother me though; it was really a revelation into the engineering and fabrication of the Towers. W O W.....a 30 mile Panoramic view from that vantage point at 552 feet above the water level ! Thanks for the excellent documentary !
I love that bridge! As a little boy, growing up in Michigan the 1960s, I loved the U.P. and the bridge. It seemed at the time to be an exotic, magical place! Even though I almost died crossing the bridge at night on my motorcycle in 1972, I'm excited every time I cross this beauty! Crossing the bridge on a motorcycle is one cool experience!
@@debrachampagne7715 I’m happy to relay my experience, but it’s nothing special. After my graduation in June, I took the summer off on my Kawasaki motorcycle to tour the U.P. and Ontario before reporting to the Navy in Sept. I was eager to cross the bridge on my motorcycle. With family at Indian Lake, I stayed for a week at their home, then took off for Escanaba, Lake of the Clouds, Keewenaw Peninsula, Marquette, Whitefish Bay, the falls, and Germfask where my little cousin drowned at six years of age. Then on to the Soo Locks. Three + weeks in, I was in Sault St. Marie, Canada about midnight when I suddenly realized I was nearly broke (young, dumb kid disease). There was barely enough money for gas to get home near Lansing. Anyway, I decided to head South. About three or so in the morning, there was the Mighty Mackinaw! I’d never crossed it at night before. The air was cool and crisp, and without another car in sight, it was really exiting. Speeding along at about 60mph, the view of the towers and the blackness below was amazing. We were “flying”! Suddenly, just inside the north tower, my left arm collided violently with something that tore my hand from the handlebar. The bike went into a wild tank slapper and I was all over the two lanes, very nearly dumping the bike on the grating lane. Finally regaining control, I looked back to see a bridge maintenance truck parked in the middle lane with huge flashing arrows telling you to go around. I never saw it! Figuring I’d hit the truck’s rear view mirror with my arm, I started shaking with fright knowing how close I’d come to becoming fish food as my body slid along the “cheese grater” lane. As the south end of the bridge appeared, all I wanted to do was get off the bike. The first exit had an open donut shop, and I pulled in. It felt as though my arm had been pulled out of it’s socket. It was extremely painful but I didn’t even care. I ordered coffee, but was shaking so badly that sucking the coffee out of the cup as it sat on the counter was the only way to drink it. I was very angry with myself for being so stupid, and my arm was really killing me by now. The ride home seemed an eternity with my left arm lying on my lap most of the way. The next day, the arm was black from my shoulder to my elbow, and I wore long sleeve shirts so my mom wouldn’t see it! God gave me a free lesson that night. I’ll never forget it.
@@uralbob1 thanks for sharing. What a scary experience , glad every thing turned out good I also know Escanaba, as my parents grew up I'm Menominee Mich. 50 miles from Green Bay Wisc. We went up there summers for vacation, off course crossing the mighty Mac. Thanks 4 story
My husband got to go to the top of one of the towers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland many years ago. It also has a small elevator but I don't know if he had to climb thru the structure like the guy in this video. The only reason he was able to do that was because he knew someone who had a job painting the bridge (there is no public access). He said it was very windy that day and he could feel the tower swaying! Worse yet, the area where you could stand was only about 28" wide and he had to tether himself to the structure to avoid being blown off. That would be a totally awesome thing to be able to do either way!
Beautiful. Ive been on top the space Needle in Seattle. Some stunning scenery up there. But take my money please to get a chance to get on top the Mac. Many thanks to the men and women who maintain this masterpiece. R.I.P. to those who gave their lives building it.
That bridge is awesome, however if I ended up, at the top. I would vomit then fall. LOL I'll stick with driving across. Did that on motorcycle, in a car, 18 wheeler semi and a 11 axle semi also drove a oversized load across the bridge had to have escort for that. Love it!
Live near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. But the Might Mack is one of my favorite bridges, along with the Golden Gate Bridge. Kudos to the Reporter who climbed to the top!
Chicagoan here, my brother and I decided to take a spontaneous trip around Lake Michigan after just a few days prior me even realizing there was a way to cross from the UP to the rest of Michigan. Initially it was just going to be a trip to the UP because no one ever talks about it but one person told me it was beautiful, I wanted to see for myself. Like I said, a few days prior to the trip I realized this bridge exists. So we took the drive, and we crossed that bridge... man, a truly amazing experience, now I wanna go back and climb it! This looks amazing and terrifying at the same time!
I've sat parked in a semi on this bridge. There was construction, so I had to wait... Yes, you can feel the bridge flex and move as traffic passes you. (Traveling in the opposite direction. Even more so if there is a loaded semi. Not a half ton truck with a camper, although if they are driving fast....yes you can tell). It's an odd feeling. OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT!
Nice addition to the Mike Rowe "Dirty Jobs" segment where he does Maintenance work on the bridge. Recently crossed it on a vacation trip to the Pictured Rocks.
Northern Michigan is beautiful, drove up the Huron Coast, on U.S. 23, then down U.S. 31, to Sleeping Bear Dunes N.L. but unfortunately, didn't have time to see much. Spent the night in Traverse City; then cut over to I-75, and crossed The Bridge, then went up to see Taquemenon Falls, and west, to Miner's Castle, and Munising, before driving down M-35, along Lake Michigan; to Menonmonee, and crossing into Wisconsin. Would love to have seen much more!
I could never do it, my "acrophobia" would be going nuts. I have been up in the American Insurance Union Citadel (now, the Leveque-Lincoln Tower, in Columbus), which is at about the same height (the Observation Floor is now closed), where, on a clear day; you can see an estimated 40 miles ( Marion, to the north, Soringfield, west; Chillicothe, south, and all of Buckeye Lake, east); so I Inagine the Panoramic view, from the top of either tower, but especially, the North Tower, must be spectacular! Too bad there's no observation deck; they could probably make a lot of money with that, too. I couldn't do it, though. The A.I.U. Citadel is officially 555.5 feet tall, and the observation floor was two floors above the tops of the cupolas, located at each corner of the Tower, 34 stories, I think, above street level. When it was built, it was 6 inches higher than the Washington Monument, and the tallest building, between New York City, and Chicago.
I have agoraphobia really bad and I can’t handle anything that open spaces or high! Haha… watching this video almost sent me into a panic but I wanted to see if I could watch it without getting scared.
Back in 2011, I drove a chemical tanker across the Mackinac and was promptly pulled over. I didn't know that chemical tankers weren't allowed on the bridge 😏
Dan, They are on top the southern tower. If you see the other tower, you are looking at the U.P. If you see no tower, you are looking at mackinaw city with Bois Blanc Island to the left.
I can highly recommend the annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk, where you can walk the length of the bridge. I did it last year, and I'm doing it again this year.
This year, the towers are getting total repaint job. When we visited (5 years ago), the bridge deck and supports were getting done. Thanks for watching!
@@dknowles60 not sure, You may be right i didn't know they laid them off in the winter , It makes sense though those winds are brutal during the winter even on a calm day
The Verrezano Bridge in NY is much taller. 693 feet. And sometimes they let people go up there. NYPD Special Ops. go up there for counterterrorism exercises.
The Golden Gate Bridge is 746 feet tall. And is what the mighty Mac tried to be. She’s 20 years older and was a game changer for bridges. Ain’t nothing compared to her at her time. An international landmark, attracting over 10 million visitors in one year. The most visited bridge in world.
No sway at all. It was designed to be very rigid in stiff winds: 2,500 cells inside each tower. The design was by the bridge expert to tried to warn officials in Washington state that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was flawed. The rest is history.
Haha yeah no it’s not .. you wish. The Golden Gate bridge is the most visited bridge in the world and it’s way more famous than Mackinac. There’s just no comparison. The Golden Gate bridge is 20 years older and it was a game changer for its time and nothing compared to it.
Does anyone know how far it is from tower top to top and then from the center of the base of each tower to the other. The paper plans don't show the curve of the Earth, but the actual measurements should show a longer distance at the top for both towers to be level.
The Verrazano Narrows Bridge towers are 1 /58 th" wider at the top and it's towers are 4,260 ft apart, the Macs' towers are 3,800 ft apart. Using the numbers we have and cross multiplying and dividing, which is perfectly applicable because the curvature of the earth is relatively the same at their respective latitudes, would give us 1.449" or 1 7/16" as the closest measurement on a tape measure. And take it from an ironworker, everything may be designed with slide rules but it's built with tape measures.
Such tours are occasionally made available to media. The Bridge Authority told me they provide a limited number of tours each year to charities to auction off at fund raising events. Otherwise, the tours are not available.
I know I'll prob be kidded about this, but I cannot stand to drive over this great bridge! Don't ask why, it just gives me a major case of vertigo every time! I'm sure I could easily WALK across the damn thing, and probably go to the top since I normally have no fear of heights. But drive over it at 50mph ...nope.
You aren't alone. In fact, the Mackinac Bridge Authority provides a service where they drive your vehicle over the bridge for you. I believe you can call them for info: www.mackinacbridge.org/
Tony Galano Noo, but I've seen plenty of video and photos. Not likely I'll get there anyway. But if I do I guarantee someone else will be in the driver's seat! lol
I shall be more comfortable to be on an airplane or on a helicopter with the solid support below me than climbing so high to the top of a bridge. Jie Song, comfortably in my hotel room 225 in the hotel of Super 6 in Pensacola in Florida, on 2022 June 30th At 5:07.
