The Mackinaw Bridge Authority gave us all some great news this week when they announced that the annual Labor Day Bridge Walk was still on.

The Labor Day bridge walk is a staple in Michigan, but with the pandemic last year, the bridge walk was cancelled. There had been a few changes to the bridge walk in the last couple of years for safety concerns. The changes made it harder for people to actually participate, but they were in the best interest of people walking. I think we are all just so happy that the walk is back on that we will take what we can get.

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The decision to have the walk was made at a recent meeting of the Mackinaw Bridge Authority. The walk is on pending the vaccine requirements set by Gov Whitmer earlier this month. 70% of Michiganders, 16 and older, must be vaccinated and a two week grace period after hitting that mark must be given for the walk to happen. The Bridge Authority will meet again in July to revisit the walk with the current conditions.

You can watch the last Bridge Authority meeting below.

The 2021 Bridge Walk will have the same safety changes that were put in place for the 2019 walk.

  • The Mackinac Bridge will be closed to public traffic from 6:30am to 12pm on September 6th.
  • There will be no shuttle for walkers to get back to the other side of the bridge.
  • Participants can walk half way, then go back to their car in St. Ignace. They can also walk across, but they are responsible for getting back to their car.

I grew up walking the bridge every year with my mom. My birthday is in the beginning of September, so it always felt like a birthday tradition. I remember being so tired at the end of the walk, but the day was far from over. Downtown Mackinac used to do a scavenger hunt to keep walkers at the shops all day long.

There are so many things that instantly flood my head when I think about walking the bridge as a kid. The views, the feeling of the bridge swaying as you walked, the ice cream at the end of the walk . . . you get the idea.

I have done a terrible job of continuing this tradition with my own kids. Not passing on something that was so memorable to my kids is one of my biggest regrets as a parent. I think this will be the year that all of that changes.

 

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