MACKINAC CITY, Mich. – This year’s Mackinac Bridge Walk, which happens annually on Labor Day, was canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) announced the suspension of the event on Wednesday. Board Chairman Patrick “Shorty” Gleason expects the walk to resume in 2021.
READ: Mackinac Bridge will stop accepting cash due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
“We recognize that September is months away but the event requires months of planning and early expenditures,” Gleason said. “Like organizers who have postponed festivals and other summer events, we needed to make a decision now.”
MBA Vice-Chairman Matt McLogan, who chairs the authority’s finance committee, said that toll revenues have been declining the pats two months. That has diminished funds available for the more than $300,000 in expenses the MBA incurs for the walk.
READ: 62 years ago: Michigan’s ‘mighty’ Mackinac Bridge opens to traffic
“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.”
Each year, between 25,000 and 57,000 people from several states and countries have come to the Mackinac Bridge for the Annual Bridge Walk, which has taken place since 1958.
MORE: Fog creates epic photo of Mackinac Bridge