Mackinac Bridge Honored
Mackinac Bridge Honored
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has selected the Mackinac Bridge and the Edsel Ford Freeway as Michigan’s top two infrastructure projects of the 20th century.
To celebrate ARTBA’s 100th anniversary next month, the group has selected two projects in each state as construction, design, and engineering marvels. The full list will be released late next month. During the year, the association will select the top twenty projects from this list.
ARTBA based their selections on a survey sent to members of Congress, governors, state transportation department heads, newspaper editors, state and local chambers of commerce executives and college professors.
The Detroit Metro Airport and Willow Run Airport received honorable mention.
The association will present plaques of recognition to the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Road Builders Association and the Association of Underground Contractors-Michigan’s Heavy Construction Association.
In addition, the association will present awards that will recognize two late Michigan officials – former Governor G. Mennen Williams and Horatio Earle. Governor Williams, Michigan’s Democratic governor from 1949-60, was selected for his leadership in the successful creation of the Mackinac Bridge Authority to study the feasiblity of building a bridge to connect Michigan’s two peninsulas. Williams later signed a law allowing the state to issue $100 million in bonds to pay for construction of the Mackinac Bridge.
Horatio Earle was known as the “father of good roads”. In 1901, he envisioned a system of roads that would connect every major city and every state capital. He founded the American Road Makers of 1902, which later became the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
The times and dates for award presentations have not been released.
In December of 1999, the Michigan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers selected the Mackinac Bridge as the state’s number one civil engineering project of the 20th century.
