ACT English Practice Test 43

Slowly Spanning the Straits

The Straits of Mackinac, located between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, divide Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Native Americans in the former wilderness territory know Q1 how to paddle between several islands to make their way across the Straits. Settlers in the eighteenth, and nineteenth, Q2 centuries crossed the Straits by ferry. However, ferries soon prove Q3 to be costly in both lives and money. By the 1880s Q4 , the Michigan Legislature had begun discussing the idea of building a bridge to span the, Strait noting the success of the newly-built Brooklyn Bridge Q5 . However, many hurdles stood in the way. During the late nineteenth century, the Legislature heard plans for an elaborate system of bridges and causeways that would use three islands as intermediate points.

However, no action was ever taken on the project Q6 . In the 1920s, an assembly ordered resumption of ferry service between the peninsulas; so Q7 within five years, Governor Fred Green felt there great cost Q8 warranted investigation of the bridge idea once again. The State Highway Authority concluded that a bridge could be built for around $30 million.

In the 1930s, The Mackinac Bridge Authority twice sought federal funding for construction of the bridge, but was denied each time. Even so, a route was plotted and careful study of the lakebed and the rock below began. Any progress, however, that Q9 was put on hold for the duration of World War II, and it was not until 1950 that funds were fully invested in the bridge project. Construction of the Mackinac Bridge finally began in 1954. It would become a crowning achievement for design engineer David Steinman and, for years, would be the longest suspension bridge in the world. Q10 U.S. Steel Company received the contract to build the massive steel superstructure. It was a two-and-a-half year ordeal that cost the state more than $44 million and cost five men their lives. On November 1, 1957, the Mackinac Bridge, in spite of decades of problems, opened to traffic. Q11 Those who did not know the history of the project were elated by the bridge’s “on schedule” completion.

Today, Q12 the Mackinac Bridge is as solid as ever. In 1998 it collected its 100 millionth toll. It will continue to serve drivers and highway travelers Q13 well into the future and stand as a monument to Michigan’s perseverance. Q14 Q15