Top Civil Engineering Project of the Century
Top Civil Engineering Project of the Century
Michigan Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus announced today that the Mackinac Bridge was selected the state’s number one civil engineering project of the 20th Century by the Michigan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
“Crossing over to the U.P. on the Mackinac Bridge has become second nature to us, and it is easy to forget the planning and design that went into constructing this amazing structure,” Lt. Gov. Posthumus said at a press conference today.
The Mackinac Bridge spans five miles across the Straits of Mackinac between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. At the time it was built and until 1998, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge between cable anchorages.
Coming in number two and three were the Soo Locks, and the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. Other rankings were four, the Ambassador Bridge; five, the Ford Motor Company Rouge Complex; six, the Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant; seven, the Interstate Highway System; eight, the Monroe Avenue Water Filtration Plant; nine, the Ludington Pumped Storage Facility; and ten, the St. Clair River Railroad Tunnel.
“The top projects were chosen because they made significant economic and social contributions to the state in its success as an industrial leader in the world by opening up channels of international commerce, protecting the environment, and improving the efficiency and safety of transportation,” said Don Mercer, P.E., ASCE Michigan Section President.
Sponsors of the event included AUC, Michigan’s Heavy Construction Association; the American Consulting Engineers Council; Associated General Contractors; Consumers Energy Company; the Michigan Asphalt Paving Association; Michigan CAT; the Michigan Concrete Association; the Michigan Concrete Paving Association; the Michigan Road Builders Association; and the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers.
Founded in 1852, ASCE represents more than 120,000 civil engineers worldwide, and is America’s oldest national engineering society. There are 2,350 members in Michigan.
