Michigan is the only state in the union composed to two separated peninsulas. At the closest point, the upper and lower peninsulas are a mere five miles apart. In the early twentieth century, the only way to make the trip across the five miles of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron was to take a boat ride from one side to the other. As businesses expanded and industry grew, the demand to cross the lakes for travel and commerce purposes grew. The only way to cross the lake was by means of a ferry service, which was unable to keep up with consumer demand. Michigan residents were unable to get convenient and frequent transport between the peninsulas. They needed a consistent, fast, and safe way to travel freely from the mainland to the upper-peninsula. In response, the construction of a five-mile-long suspension bridge to link the peninsulas was set into action. The construction of the Mackinac Bridge was greatly significant to the national economy, the field of engineering, the efficiency of travel, and the historic symbolism of the state of Michigan.
The first and most challenging problem associated with building the Mackinac Bridge arrived long before the bridge was even designed. Financing such an enormous project was no easy feat. In 1928, the idea of connecting the upper and lower peninsulas was proposed to Congress for the first time (Brown 4). At the time, the suspected bridge project was very much under government scrutiny and control. In fact, the initial boost in interest in pursuing the construction of a bridge came about due to the depression. The Public Works Administration (PWA) had been created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal economic plan which would fund certain construction projects with th...
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...iewing of the Mackinac Bridge. It is now known by Michigan residents as the “Mighty Mac.” Over the years, the Mighty Mac has seen several iconic moments in history including a wedding proposal in the emergency lane and the sudden birth of a child halfway across the bridge. With each new story, the Mackinac Bridge becomes further steeped in Michigan history and an even greater symbol of the Great Lakes State. The bridge is now a common event location. The annual “bridge walk” attracts over 50,000 participants every Labor Day weekend, but other groups have arranged various crossings. Everything from Harley Davidson Motorcycle rallies to organized Chevrolet Corvette crossings has taken place on the Mighty Mac, as well as a plethora of bicyclist groups. The Mackinac Bridge provides a thrilling passage between the peninsulas and has become the portrait of Michigan.
How exactly did the Mackinac Bridge start? It started back around 1884 when they started thinking about it. The Lansing Republic newspaper , dated February 5th 1884, reprinted a story from the Grand Traverse Herald pointing out that the experiment to provide all year service across the straights by boat had failed, and if that a great east west route were ever to be established through Michigan a bridge or tunnel would have be required. They considered both as possible, the only question in their mind was cost (History of the Bridge 1).
The building of a new bridge will be done. The question is when. A new bridge is of major importance to the city of Buffalo. It will bring many positives, and barely any negatives. Personally, I have always just thought of a bridge as a way to get from point A to point B. However, the idea of new Peace Bridge's benefits has opened my eyes. The new Peace Bridge may result in a modern day Erie Canal.
Before any canals were even built, there was a great demand for better transportation to and from the west. During this time of exploration, something was necessary in order for settlement to progress. After the canals were built, people living in to north grew exceedingly wealthy from the trading benefits of the canals. This wealth would eventually create economic differences with the southern United States(Drago 178).
Economics, in the form of cheap transportation, have been the impetus behind most of the development along the Upper Mississippi. In the early 1800's, transportation was limited to keelboats (large rafts made of roughcut lumber) which floated downstream with the current where they changed their cargo and then were poled or warped (pulled from shore with a rope) back upstream. With the development of the steamboat the arduous journey up and down the river, taking up to nine months by keelboat, became a much more reliable route for transporting both products and people. In the late 1800's, the invention of the internal combustion engine led to the powerful towboats seen on the Mississippi today. Towboats move 70 to 85 million tons of cargo annually between Minneapolis and the Missouri River [http://www.emtc.nbs.gov]. Underscoring the economic importance of such ...
By the 1840’s The Old Grand River Indian trail was but a muddy, mucky pair of ruts that was often impassable for months out of the year. In the late 1840’s wooden plank roads were appearing in the U.S. and the General Plank Road Act of 1850 allowed private enterprises in Michigan to build plank roads provided they held to certain specifications. Roads were 16 feet wide of inch thick oak or pine with mandatory drainage ditches to each side. 1851 saw the incorporation of the Detroit-Howell plank road company which included such Detroit notables as James Couzens and Lewis Cass amongst its investors. The new 50 mile turnpike to Howell would later be connected to the Capital via the Howell-Lansing Plank road in 1852. Tollbooths were installed at intervals of every 5 miles along the oak planks and often lodging and taverns sprang up at these locations. Note: (The Grand River and Joy Road intersection is exactly 5 miles Northwest of Woodward.) Tolls collected at these locations were xx $ per mile and interestingly many hamlets sprung up around these predecessors to the on-ramp. Some of these towns still survive today as suburbs and cosmopolitan municipalities. Towns like Redford, Farmington, Novi, Howell and Brighton all were stops along the Detroit – Howell – Lansing plank pikes. Today one coach stop, the Botsford Inn in Livonia at Grand River and Mi...
The completion of the canal in 1825 led to a two way trade system. Boats would travel East with supplies from the Great Lakes and the surrounding territory and return with settlers and passengers travelling West, which became an extensive business (Johnson 375). The economic success and prosperity of the Canal also provided motivation for the construction of railroads West, including the transcontinental railroad (Seelye 264). The Erie Canal determined the flow of commerce in the United States for over a century (Seelye 252).
To me, the drive felt like forever even though it was only 35 miles from Petoskey to Mackinaw City. As 10-year-old me sat in the back seat of my mom’s car, I remember repeatedly asking the question most parents dread to hear, “are we almost there?” Every time I asked she would shake her head in bemused frustration and respond, “you’ll know when we get there”. At the time, I was not sure what I was most excited for: the ride on the ferry, the big horses, the historical fort, the inevitable delicious ice cream; it all sounded whimsically amazing and I could not be more excited to arrive on Mackinac Island.
Farmers, who had moved out west looked for a way to send their produce back east. However, roads were far too expensive and inefficient for this. Thus, canals and steamboats were used to link the country commercially and allow for the transport of goods across the nation. The Erie Canal was one of the greatest technological achievements of its time. At 363 miles long it connects New York to the Great Lakes by water (Sheriff 251). The canal provided easy passage halfway across the country for people and goods and sparked a push for westward movement. To travel on these new canals steambo...
... line the canal today. The development of the railroad in the 19th century and the automobile in the 20th century sealed the fate of the Erie Canal.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is perhaps the most notorious failure in the world of engineering. It collapsed on November 7, 1940 just months after its opening on July 1, 1940. It was designed by Leon Moisseiff and at its time it was the third largest suspension bridge in the world with a center span of over half a mile long. The bridge was very narrow and sleek giving it a look of grace, but this design made it very flexible in the wind. Nicknamed the "Galloping Gertie," because of its undulating behavior, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge drew the attention of motorists seeking a cheap thrill. Drivers felt that they were driving on a roller coaster, as they would disappear from sight in the trough of the wave. On the last day of the bridge's existence it gave fair warning that its destruction was eminent. Not only did it oscillate up and down, but twisted side to side in a cork screw motion. After hours of this violent motion with wind speeds reaching forty and fifty miles per hour, the bridge collapsed. With such a catastrophic failure, many people ask why such an apparently well thought out plan could have failed so badly?(This rhetorical question clearly sets up a position of inquiry-which iniates all research.) The reason for the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is still controversial, but three theories reveal the basis of an engineering explanation. (Jason then directly asserts what he found to be a possible answer to his question.)
In The Artificial River, Carol Sheriff describes how when the digging of the Erie Canal began on July 4, 1817, no one would have been able to predict that the canal would even be considered a paradox of progress. One of the major contradictions of progress was whether or not triumphing art over nature was even considered progress. People were not sure during the nineteenth century if changing the environment for industrialization was necessarily a good thing. Another contradiction to progress that resulted from the Erie Canal was when people started holding the state government responsible for all their financial misfortunes. An additional contradiction to progress that the Erie Canal displayed was how many of its workers were either children, or men that lived lives that were intemperate and disrespectful to women. As American history students look back at the Erie Canal today, they generally only imagine how the canal was extraordinary for the residents of New York, but not all the issues and problems it also produced.
The Central Artery Tunnel Project, more commonly known as the Big Dig, is said to be the largest, most complex and technologically challenging highway project in American history. It is the culmination of decades of planning and forethought and is hoped to alleviate the traffic congestion that has plagued the Boston area since the invention of the automobile. The project incorporates a major underground highway system, a revolutionary cable-stayed bridge, and a series of impressive tunnel crossings, each a considerable feat on their own, all constructed in the midst of a bustling city.
That project extended the beleaguered bridge at Florence in 1917. In the previous year, Congress reflected the nation’s quest to build roads and bridges by approving the Federal Road Aid Act of 1916 and President Woodrow Wilson signed the measure. Quickly, Arizona and Pinal County collaborated to raise the funds necessary to match $20,000 in federal aid. The project improved a bridge that remained in service until the late 1950s, when the Arizona Highway Department built a new one.
The State of Washington is located in the far northwest corner of the United States. It has 66,582 square miles between the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Idaho boarder to the east. Washington borders Canada on the north and Oregon on the south along the Columbia River.
Quinn, R. (2008). Building the Bridge As You Walk On It. In J.L. Pierce, & J.W. Newstrom (Eds). The Manager’s Bookshelf (pp 233-236). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson