Why is the the Mackinac Bridge called "Big Mac"?

Look into the history of the bridge and you will see. Try this site:

Mackinac Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At the time of its 1957 completion it set world records for size (and possibly the longest time to build a bridge.)

Just a side note. In my youth there was a persistent myth of the Mighty Mac that cars driving over it in bad weather at night would be blown off the bridge (by wind) and sink into the lake below. furthermore, that divers had found dozens of cars on the lake bed beneath and nearby the bridge. It is just one more example of wild tales growing out of (nearly) nothing and getting blown (no pun intended) all out of proportion.

Some still are too afraid of the bridge to cross it. The Bridge Authority actually provides a free service (on requiest) to provide a driver to take a car across. (I don't know what the original car occupents then do.)

Sam

I live in Michigan and there is a case of a Yugo blowing off the bridge.

Chazl

You are right, in 1989 Yugo went off in a windstorm , in 1997 an SUV went over but that was judged a suicide.

http://www.northernexpress.com/editorial/features.asp?id=2490

My father Inlaw worked on the City Sewer System in Mackinac and St Ignace while it was being built and said it was more ofted referred to as the "Mighty Mac" when it was being built.

Accidental or intentional -- While driving a Yugo, both could very well be classified as suicidal!

Yeah, but the question centered around a car blowing off of the bridge...

Welcome, Guest. I hope you'll register with our forum.

I believe that the bridge is called "Big Mac" because of its length (5 miles).

FYI - Last November, I commemorated the opening of the Mackinac Bridge in CR4's "On This Day in Engineering History" blog. Click here to read that story. For more information, I'd suggest visiting the resources listed at the end of that piece.

Hope this helps.

"Big Mac" was featured on the History Channel show "Modern Marvels" a few years ago. It was a good documentary; here's a link:

http://www.tv.com/modern-marvels/mackinac-bridge/episode/333191/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;49

Anything large associated with a name beginning with Mc or Mac is likely to be called Big Mac, such as the hamburger from McDonald's, or the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, OK. And don't forget Mack Trucks either.

From the Wikipedia article:

".... The design of the Mackinac Bridge was directly influenced by the lessons of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge,...designs [to prevent galloping] include[d] ... open-grid roadway to reduce its wind resistance ...."

Though I've only seen pictures of the Mackinac, that part of the article brought back vivid memory of my first experience—it was a crash course in bridge motoring—of transiting over a "metal-paved" roadway. It was quite some time ago when, on a cold, drizzly, fall day in Baltimore City after moving from Texas (they don't have bridges there big enough to brag about), I suddenly found myself, caught totally unawares, doing about 40 mph at dusk on an open grid roadway. The lessons distilled, both during and then after a moment of temporary paralysis of decision...

• Keep eyes straight ahead and don't look down at the road;
• Don't speed up and don't slow down;
• Don't touch the clutch;
• Sit up straight and don't slouch or lean;
• Don't even think of touching the brakes;
• When the tires slip side to side, let them;
• Don't change lanes;
• Stay calm and keep thinking, this is only temporary;
• And don't steer, but keep on straight ahead with both hands on the...

hand grips of the only thing, a small displacement motorcycle, separating me from calamity real or imagined.

Why the momentary panic, you ask? Well, looking down at what suddenly seems to be a road in motion, and seeing nothing but thin forward-and-aft "rails" stopping a long fall into choppy bay waters below...such a scene can play havoc with the reasoning parts of the mind.

I have to agree with you on this. The open grating used over waterways on bridges does not have the same feel to it as pavement. I was driving on 4 tires, and the vehicle wanted to sway as the tires went in and out out the steel ribs. Two tires, and narrow ones at that, must be a real experience.

I was once told that if the Army (in sufficient numbers) marched across the bridge, in step, it would collapse. I suppose that may apply to any large-span bridge like this.