Michigan's historic highway bridges are rapidly being torn down and replaced as they deteriorate or become unable to support increased traffic volumes and loads. While the state has the responsibility of providing safe bridges, historian Charles K. Hyde maintains that the state must also preserve many of these remaining historic structures to insure that future generations will have them to view and appreciate. In Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan, Hyde identifies Michigan's historically significant highway bridges within the broader contexts of American bridge design and construction in the 19th and 20th centuries. The book summarizes the improvement of highway bridge design in the United States and compares Michigan's experiences with national trends. To aid the reader interested in visiting the historic highway bridges of Michigan, regional maps show the location of bridges included in the text.

Handsome illustrations of more than two hundred bridges, including Columbia River Scenic Highway bridges, covered bridges, and magnificent coastal bridges.

Based on the popular Lost In Michigan website that was featured in the Detroit Free Press, It contains locations throughout Michigan, and tells their interesting story. There are over 50 stories and locations that you will find fascinating.

The project-the longest total suspension bridge in the world-would span the Starits of Mackinac where winds exceed eighty miles an hour and ice windrows reach a height of forty feet. It would connect two largely rural communities with a combined population of less than four thousand and would require the largest bond issue ever proposed for the construction of a bridge. Little wonder that some Wall Street investors labeled the proposition as ludicrous. Nonetheless, the Mackinac Bridge became a reality.