Michigan bridge was target of suspects
So if they really had blown it up, how much chaos would that have created, and how many lives likely to be lost? Or would it have been mostly “sending a message”?
I’m somewhat confused by that story. I didn’t know that cell phones were explosive. :eek: How many of them would it take to blow up the Mackinac Bridge?
Okay, I’m officially skeptical. Checking out the different news accounts, no one even seems to be sure how prepaid cell phones -> terrorism. Sometimes it’s for triggering explosives, sometimes it’s for making untraceable international calls, sometimes the suspects really are buying them to resell at a profit, like they claimed, but they’re doing it “to make money for terrorism”.
As for a motive for blowing up the bridge… I’m not too sure. It does get something like 4 million crossings a year (compare to ~40 million for the Golden Gate bridge) and it can fit a lot of cars on it at once… but a lot of it is on pillars, it’s not all suspension. And pillars are kind of hard to blow up.
Maybe they just hate yoopers? 
Thing is, the Golden Gate bridge is definitely being watched closely. The Mackinac bridge is of lesser importance and therefore may be an easier target. It’s a really big bridge, and bringing it down would be big news - remember that publicity for these attacks is just as important, if not more so, than actual body count. Repairing the Mackinac would cost a lot of money, too.
So while it may not be the “best” target by a number of criteria, if the security is lax enough that it’s a viable target that may be enough for the Bad Guys.
Okay, I see what you mean. Thank you.
I think it could disrupt the strategic pasty & fudge supply, sending their prices spiraling.
From the Yooper perspective, we’re all for blowing up the bridge. Easier to keep the damn trolls down where they belong.
Yeah, but bridge toll workers’ salaries account for 90% of all disposable income in the UP. What ever will sustain your way of life? The Canadian dollar has to get a lot stronger before the toll workers’ salaries at International Bridge makeup for the shortfall…
And besides, if they blew up the Bridge, my brother-in-law from the Soo would have to take a detour when delivering wood to the Detroit area. So he would probably go to Duluth or something. The economic consequences would be unthinkable.
Sure, you laugh now, but without the bridge there’d be no troop backups when Wisconsin invades.
Just the way us Yoopers would want it. We’ll be waiting for that invading force with cold Leinenkugel and fried perch.
It amounts to the convenience of a 5 mile trip vs. going several hundred miles around Lake Michigan!
In my opinion it wouldn’t have been a very spectacular end result. Maybe a section of bridge deck or one pier, maybe.
A home grown terror plot not likely to have the expertise to pull off a major terror plot. Buying cell phones in bulk at 3/for isn’t a very bright way to NOT call attention to yourself!
Seriously folks, if part of the bridge fell in ship channels shipping into and out of Lake Michigan would be affected. How is ship traffic through the Strait? Is there much of it?
I should add that I think the line “MIchigan bridge was target of suspects” should read something like " maybe the possible suspects were thinking about a Michigan bridge."
Be warned. Don’t by more of anything that the feds think is proper.
I should add that I think the line “MIchigan bridge was target of suspects” should read something like " maybe the possible suspects were thinking about a Michigan bridge."
Be warned. Don’t by more of anything than the feds think is proper.
Biowarfare? Fie!
Obviously the terror suspects saw that wretched “Somewhere in Time” movie and decided to administer retribution for the two ous of their lives they’ll never get back.
two hours
Aren’t they currently in the process of building a new bridge, anyway? Or am I thinking of some other bridge?
The amount of ship traffic through the Straits is very significant with 20% of the steel made in the U.S. coming through it as iron ore. Much of Chicago’s international export business goes through the Straits, as well (along with smaller amounts from Milwaukee, Muskegon, Gary, etc.)
On the other hand, the Straits are nearly 200 feet deep (295 at the max, I think) so a rotting bridge carcass would probably only hold up traffic on those days when they were trying to pull the wreckage up. (Ships going through the Straits tend to only have a draught of around 30 feet, since they also have to navigate the St. Mary, St. Clair, and Detroit Rivers.)
On the other hand, while the law enforcement guy was speculating about the publicity of destroying Big Mac, taking out the Ambassador Bridge at Detroit would both reduce cross-border traffic by 2/3 (the tunnel is only a two-lane affair) and probably stop all traffic on the Detroit River. Detroit has been the most heavily crossed point between Canada and the U.S. and already carries a significant portion of the automotive industry, so that would be a serious blow to the economy of the U.S. In addition, stopping the flow of shipping on the Detroit River would have a much more serious impact on the entire Great Lakes region, effectively halting all international trade North of Toldeo (aside from a few docks that are just downstream from the bridge).