How often does the Mackinac Bridge Authority close the bridge due to falling ice?
Since 1995 (as far back as we have records for partial and total closures), the Authority has closed the bridge 28 times for ice. The first noted closure was on Jan. 30, 1998, when the bridge was closed for two hours and 50 minutes. The most recent was April 3, 2022, when the bridge was closed for six hours and 57 minutes. There have been 28 falling ice closures in the past 27 years, or an average of about one each year. Falling ice closures usually happen in January, February, March, or April, though there have been a few in November and December over the years. They usually follow mixed precipitation or freezing rain events that coat the bridge, or when accumulated snow melts during the day, and freezes as ice at night.
Our friends at the National Weather Service found no increased frequency of freezing rain advisories or warnings around the bridge, though we are seeing more brief warmups during winter in recent years, which may be contributing to falling ice events.
