At 1:45 p.m. on Nov. 1, 1957, the City of Petoskey car ferry made its final trip from Mackinaw City, docking in St. Ignace for an open house and program to mark the end of an era.

At 2 p.m. that day, Michigan Gov. G. Mennen Williams arrived in St. Ignace at a newly erected toll plaza. Williams' vehicle would be the first to officially drive over the Mackinac Bridge, starting a new era that would unite the state's peninsulas by the opening of Michigan's greatest engineering feat and most enduring landmark.

As cars followed the governor over the bridge, "some motorists continued to arrive at the dock to cross the Straits, but were told to go to the bridge," wrote Mike Fornes, who provided the above account in his book Mackinac Bridge, a 50-Year Chronicle. "The ferries were tied up for good, and the Mackinac Straits Bridge was now open for business. Michigan was indeed one."

After the bridge opened the bridge gradually became Michigan's pre-eminent landmark, now appearing our driver's licenses, license plates, on gift shop coffee mugs as well as travel promotion materials. And why not? It was one of the greatest engineering feats of its time, and remains the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and the third longest in the world.

Since Gov. Williams made that five-mile-long passage, a half-century has gone by and more than 140 million vehicles have crossed the Mackinac Bridge. Some 3,500 bridge workers, 350 engineers and 7,500 others in various quarries, mills and shops were employed during the bridge's construction, from 1954 to 1957.

A comparative handful of those original construction workers re-visited the Mackinac Bridge in July, as part of the official 50-year anniversary celebration of the bridge. As we reported at the time, parades, fireworks, first-hand accounts from bridge workers and the unveiling of an iron worker statue marked the anniversary.

"I was a small part of building the bridge, but it was heartwarming being on the float (at the 50th anniversary celebration) with people cheering and waving," said iron worker Joe Oldeck, who toiled on the bridge for a year and a half. "My dad always said that that you don't know how lucky you are to have worked on the Big Mac, and I am."

Many of the workers' comments were quite matter of fact, like Paul LaFebvre's: "I see the bridge is still up. We must have done a fair job."

Ten years ago, The Building Tradesman undertook a project to talk to tradesmen who worked on the bridge in conjunction with the Mighty Mac's 40th anniversary. We published a special section at the time with their comments. The 40th anniversary doesn't have the "golden" impact of the 50th anniversary, but we wanted to record their memories at the time - as inevitably, some memories would fail and some of the workers would be unreachable a decade later. Many of the workers' comments are reprinted here.

The "official" State of Michigan's celebration for the Mackinac Bridge's 50th anniversary took place in July - a month that's apt to have better weather for parades and fireworks than November. But we saved most of our attention for the "real" anniversary date: Nov. 1. We hope you enjoy this special tribute to the men who helped build the Mighty Mac.

UNION BUILDING TRADESMEN built the magnificent Mackinac Bridge from 1954 to 1957. The prime contractors were the American Bridge division of U.S. Steel (superstructure) and Merritt-Chapman & Scott (builder of the bridge's 34 piers). Five tradesmen died during construction. (Photo courtesy MDOT Photography Unit)

A WELDING GANG sets the grated metal roadbed in the middle of the bridge in 1957. The grating was intended to allow the bridge to be aerodynamically transparent, making it better able to withstand winds in the Straits of Mackinac. Mackinac Bridge Authority Chief Engineer Kim Nowack said the span was built with such a high factor of engineering strength that a solid deck surface could have been installed instead. (Photo courtesy MDOT Photography Unit)

MACKINAC BRIDGE painters put the first coat of rust-colored primer on a main cable in 1957. From the look of the men, they had a few coats of paint on themselves, too. (Photo courtesy MDOT Photography Unit)