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Traffic Finally Flowing After Mackinac Bridge Closures

Startling video from the Mackinac Bridge Wednesday morning shows a Bridge Authority truck getting hit by falling ice.

Now, traffic finally flowing smoothly.

The Mackinac Bridge closed for a total of 20 hours over the past two days starting around 2 Tuesday afternoon.

It opened briefly at 6 Wednesday morning, and closed again just before 9 a.m.

It finally opened again around 1 Wednesday afternoon.

“When we close the bridge for falling ice, we’re doing it for everyone’s safety,” says Bob Sweeney, Mackinac Bridge Authority.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority believes the closure that totaled 20 hours over the course of two days is their longest ever and one of the only overnight closures.

Drivers like Angelina and Ross Luppino say they got stuck Tuesday afternoon while trying to get to Wisconsin.

“Drove up to Mackinaw City and then there’s this detour, I’m thinking what in the world is going on,” explains Angelina. “And we kept on driving, and we can’t get across.”

She and her husband, Ross, drove down to Gaylord for a hotel overnight.

When they found out they missed the three hour opening Wednesday morning, they couldn’t believe it.

 “We said were going to wait. We thought, you know, we’ll just give it another try and we came back up here,” says Ross.

Other drivers say waiting in the closures cost them.

 “You’re sitting here and you’ve got to make money, and you can’t make money when you’re sitting,” says Alex Bumbaco, a driver who was stuck in St. Ignace.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority understands the frustration, but they want to remind drivers the falling ice can do damage.

Ice smashed a Bridge Authority truck’s windshield.

“It’s not a very fun job for anybody working here when we’re in bridge closures, but it’s necessary for everyone’s safety,” says Sweeney,

No one was hurt by the falling ice.

The Bridge Authority does not expect any further closures.

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