Traffic is flowing once again on the Mackinac Bridge after restrictions were lifted this morning around 8:30. The bridge had been closed due to ice falling from the towers and suspension cables onto the bridge deck below. At last reports, high profile vehicles were being escorted across the bridge at 20 mph for safety due to continued high winds in the Straits. (Examples of high profile vehicles include pickup trucks with campers; cars with small boats, bicycles or luggage attached to the roof; Ryder or U-Haul trucks; any vehicle pulling a boat; semi-tractors with enclosed trailers and all trailers with side walls over two feet in height. High profile vehicles must be escorted.)
The latest closure, which was a record-setting 30 hours, was the third such closure of the bridge this week due to inclement weather and ice build up – the same storms that have left much of the Lower Peninsula in shambles and nearly 100,000 without power. Since Monday of this week a state of emergency declaration has been in affect for Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, Alpena, Alcona, and Antrim counties. The National Guard has arrived in many of the impacted areas – assisting in clearing roads and debris, downed power lines, setting up warming shelters, delivering food and supplies and conducting wellness checks. If you’d like to donate to aid relief efforts or learn what you can do to help, follow this link.