The Mackinac Bridge is closed again Wednesday due to hazardous ice falling from its cables and towers.
The bridge has been intermittently closed this week after an ice storm hit northern Michigan over the weekend.
The bridge was closed most of Tuesday and finally reopened at about 7 p.m.
However, winds overnight began shaking the suspended cables and knocked ice loose, which prompted another closure at 2:30 a.m., according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
Winds in the Straits overnight began shaking the suspended cables, knocking ice loose and prompting another closure. Here’s a look at the ice spear that started this closure. pic.twitter.com/MOsG7Qtoeo
The bridge will reopen when conditions improve, but there’s no timetable for that and more closures are likely because of the large amount of ice that remains on the towers and cables.
“Unlike high wind closures where weather forecasts can give us solid information on when winds are expected to diminish, guessing when ice will fall and stop falling is just a guess,” said Mackinac Bridge Director Kim Nowack in a news release. “Factors like wind, sunshine and rising temperatures may give us hints that falling ice may be imminent, but no clear timing. For the safety of all involved, we need to keep our system simple: when ice is falling from the towers and cables, we close the bridge until it stops.”
The Mackinac Bridge is located on Interstate 75 at the Straits of Mackinac. It connects Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas.
Nowack is urging travelers to not go to the area unless it’s absolutely necessary and said travelers should not go to the Straits area expecting to cross the bridge.
“Given the amount of ice that remains on the cables and towers, any falling ice closures are likely to be lengthy, and could start and stop at any time,” Nowack said.
A message from Bridge Director Kim Nowack on this extreme ice. These chunks of ice are extremely dangerous when falling from the bridge heights. pic.twitter.com/XtqPiP7DsC
The bridge maintenance staff has said the amount of ice on the bridge is unprecedented.
Sheets of ice falling from the flat surfaces of the bridge towers can be as large as garage doors, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority. Ice spears that form on the cables fall straight down and chunks that have formed on upper cables fall hundreds of feet. Some of the pieces that have survived the fall are as large as a loaf of bread and windshields and roofs have been caved in on both Mackinac Bridge Authority and private vehicles.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mackinac Bridge closed again Wednesday for falling ice: Don’t expect to cross
Reporting by Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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