By David Fleet

Editor

Ortonville– It’s just five miles of I-75 that spans the straits of Mackinac from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace.

The Mackinac Bridge, an iconic symbol of Michigan, has sparked hundreds of stories—some myths, some truths.

At 6 p.m., Aug. 16, Mike Fornes will unravel some of the mysteries and fables of the bridge in his book, “101 Things that Happened on the Mackinac Bridge,” at the Brandon Township Library, 304 South St. Admission is free.

Fornes, a former reporter, has covered the Mackinac Bridge and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw for 26 years via radio and television and The Cheboygan Daily Tribune. A Mackinaw City resident who now lives just a few miles east of the bridge, Fornes will discuss the bridge’s history including strange crossings, tragedies and humorous events that have happened on the five-mile span.

“A lot has happened since construction first began in 1954,” he said. “The Mackinac Bridge has withstood gale-force winds, crushing ice flows in the straits and blinding snowstorms. Since opening in 1957, the bridge has survived a lightning strike, an airplane crash and been hit by a ship.”

In 1968 the Greek freighter Castalia struck the north pier of the Mackinac Bridge in dense fog, yet made just a small gouge in the cement, Fornes said.

“Very little damage—it’s one tough bridge,” he said.

The ship was leaking, but cleared to proceed to Chicago. It was on its first trip through the seaway and was later scrapped after arriving at Bilbao, Spain, on July 4, 1973.

“The Mackinac Bridge does not sway either,” he said. “But it does flex—in line and out of line. It’s a misconception.”

“Sometimes motorists are reluctant to drive over the bridge,” he said. “It’s no big deal —actually an average of 1,300 vehicles per year require assistance. The bridge

authority has trained workers that will drive a motorcycle, motorhome or truck and trailer over for you.”

Fornes recalled perhaps the most tragic day on the bridge.

In 1989 a Royal Oak woman was driving her Yugo across the bridge when her car skidded along an outer railing for about 40 feet before striking a vertical suspension cable and flipping over the side. Michigan State Police divers pulled 31-year-old Leslie Ann Pluhar and her crumpled Yugo out of about 150 feet of water about a week later due to weather hindering the search.

“I was on the bridge about two hours after it happened,” he said. “A helicopter was searching the water under the bridge for the car. A truck driver claimed the car with kids in it had gone over the side. She was driving at 67 mph when she passed the truck and we think she forced the wheels over the curb and the car rolled. If you roll over on I-75 you go in the ditch, but if you roll over on the bridge you end up in the water.”

Then there’s the humorous episodes on the bridge.

“A family showed up trying to cross the bridge at 5 a.m. in a covered wagon,” he said. “The were traveling from Pennsylvania and the wagon was pulled by horses—so we gave them an escort and over they went. Then a few years ago some man wanted to carry a cross like Jesus across the bridge. The cross was huge, with a wheel on one end to help roll it along. He was going across the country as a penance, but pedestrians are not allowed on the bridge. The man ended up getting a ride in the back of a pickup truck.”