Traffic is moving across the Mackinac Bridge on Friday morning, March 13, but it’s likely another closure will take place soon, either because of wind knocking remaining ice down or because the weather (finally) warms and ice melts, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
“We really hate to close the bridge at any time, knowing how important the connection is, but in cases of falling ice we really have no choice but to err on the side of caution,” MBA communications specialist James Lake said on March 13 by email.
On Friday morning, a winter storm warning was in effect for Mackinac County. Views from the bridge’s live cameras showed whiteout conditions.
“Currently we are experiencing winds of sufficient force (35 – 49 mph) in the Straits area to require an escort of certain ‘high profile’ vehicles across the Mackinac Bridge,” the MBA said on its website, but traffic was moving at 20 mph.
The Mackinac Bridge closed twice on Thursday, March 12 — from 10:18 a.m. to 4:28 p.m., then again from 4:53 p.m. to 9 p.m., Lake said.
“We reopened for that brief period because the ice stopped falling long enough that we were confident reopening, but then it started falling again rather quickly. In the evening, once the sun went down and temperatures dropped, the ice refroze to the bridge surfaces,” he explained.
Lake said “a lot” of ice fell off of the main cables on Thursday, but some is still clinging to the vertical suspender cables.
“Looks like temperatures are expected to remain below freezing for the next several days, but gusty winds may knock down some of the remaining ice during that period,” he said. “We really aren’t able to predict when or for how long ice will fall in the near future, but as long as ice remains on the bridge, it’s likely we’ll have another closure when it begins to clear again.”
An ice storm earlier in the week left up to a half inch of ice on bridge surfaces, the MBA said this week, prompting a warning of potential closures on Wednesday afternoon. The forecast proved accurate when Thursday’s closure took place.
How often does the Mackinac Bridge close?
This winter the bridge had already closed for falling ice four times, between Feb. 19 and Feb. 22, totaling about 18 hours.
Since 1995, when the MBA began tracking closures of the bridge for any reason, the bridge has been closed 32 times for falling ice, an average of about one each year, not including the current winter.
The shortest closure for falling ice was 37 minutes on Nov. 29, 2001. The longest closure to date was the April 2-3, 2025, closure when the bridge was closed for 30 hours and four minutes.
As of May 2025, the average falling ice closure lasts about 5 hours, 54 minutes. Over the last 30 years (roughly 262,800 hours), the bridge has been closed 188 hours and four minutes for falling ice, less than 0.1 percent of the time.
How can you check current Mackinac Bridge conditions?
The Mackinac Bridge Authority’s website features current bridge conditions and five bridge cams that update every 1 minute showing a live look at conditions.
What is the risk of falling ice?
The Mackinac Bridge Authority closes the bridge when falling ice occurs due to the risk of killing or injuring travelers, per the bridge authority.
What is the Mackinac Bridge?
The Mackinac Bridge is a 5-mile long suspension bridge connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas over the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The steel, concrete and cable wire structure includes two towers reaching 554 feet high above water and 210 feet down to the lake bedrock, according to Mackinac.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mackinac Bridge traffic resumes. Why it could close again soon
Reporting by Dan Basso and Jenna Prestininzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
