Photo Courtesy of Mackinac Bridge Authority

A 93-year-old Alpena man who worked on the Mackinac Bridge has been gifted a part of the Mighty Mac.

Jack R. Thompson, 93, of Alpena, worked with a construction crew that strung 42,000 miles and 11,840 tons of suspension cables in 1956.

On Wednesday, Thompson received a piece of the bridge’s original deck grating from Bill O’Neil, maintenance director of the Besser Senior Living Community where Thompson currently lives. The last time Thompson crossed the Mighty Mac was in 1960.

“I can’t explain what a wonderful feeling it is to have a piece of the actual bridge,” Thompson said. “It brings back great memories. It is really cool. I was just one man, and there were so many who worked to build the bridge. It was a great experience, and I met a lot of great people.”

“I travel between the Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan every week and I often think about the men and women who built the Mackinac Bridge,” O’Neil said. “I feel honored to be able to bring a piece of the bridge decking back for Jack as a reminder of his work and of the great friends he met on the bridge.”

Small pieces of the Mackinac Bridge’s original bridge grating are for sale at the Mackinac Bridge Administration Office in St. Ignace.

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