Mackinac Bridge Walk 2020 suspended due to coronavirus concerns

FOX 2 - The Mackinac Bridge Authority suspended this year's walk due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Labor Day weekend Annual Bridge Walk attracts between 25,000 and 57,000 people from several states and countries have participated. 

Photo courtesy of mackinacbridge.org

The event has taken place since 1958, the year after the bridge opened to traffic. The decision to suspend the event came at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, conducted online due to the pandemic. 

The walk is expected to resume in 2021.

"We recognize that September is months away but the event requires months of planning and early expenditures," Chairman Patrick Gleason said. "Like organizers who have postponed festivals and other summer events, we needed to make a decision now."

Based on forecasts, the board said it is likely the pandemic will be a health safety concern well into summer, particularly for events that attract large crowds.

"We can't in good conscience continue with an event we know draws people from across our state and beyond, and puts them shoulder-to-shoulder for hours, when medical advice strenuously advises against such gatherings," Gleason said.

MBA Vice-Chairman Matt McLogan, who chairs the authority's finance committee, said toll revenues have been declining the past two months along with traffic volumes, diminishing funds available for the more than $300,000 in expenses the MBA incurs for the walk.
             
"The walk is a wonderful tradition, which I have consistently supported. But the MBA must hold the line on expenses wherever it can now because we don't know when or if regular traffic volumes will resume," McLogan said. "Pausing the Walk for 2020 is the responsible course of action."

Photo courtesy of mackinacbridge.org