Here’s an interesting wrinkle. I was pretty sure my scooter would be allowed on the Mighty Mack, but just to be certain, I e-mailed the Mackinac Bridge Authority… and the answer was no.
The problem, I’ve discovered, is that the Mackinac Bridge isn’t just a bridge; it’s also a section of I-75. That means the same access rules are in effect as for any interstate: no pedestrians, no bicycles, and no vehicles with engines under 125cc.
The thing is… the Bridge is one of the few places where that 125cc rule isn’t really necessary. The rule is intended to keep the riders of otherwise-street-legal bikes like mine – ones that simply cannot keep up with regular expressway traffic – from endangering themselves and other motorists. But the speed limit on the Bridge is only 45mph, and my scoot can keep up with that well enough. Heck, trucks are only allowed to go 20mph, and I can do that even uphill in a headwind (which admittedly, I might actually face in this case). There are two lanes in each direction, so I’d just stay to the right lane and let the speed demons pass. Granted, because I’m a little nervous about heights I have some concerns about that several-minute ride across, but in fact I’d be as safe as any other random motorcyclist on the Mack.
So I’m going anyway. There’s an on-ramp to I-75 only 4 blocks before it goes over the water, which is where I’d already planned to join it, and the toll booth is on the north end of the Bridge (with an immediate exit from the interstate available), so if they inspect my scoot and discover that it wasn’t supposed to be on the bridge, it’ll be “too late” and I’ll already be where I need to be. If it comes to this, I’ll just take my citation and promise not to cross it again on the return trip… because there won’t be one.
A follow-up:
I’ve checked to see if there’s any alternative to riding across the Bridge, and apparently there is not. The state-run ferry service between Mackinaw and St Ignace was shut down immediately after the Bridge opened in 1957, because the bond proposal to pay for it promised it wouldn’t compete for traffic (and tolls) across the straits. There’s no longer a railroad to the straits, so there’s no demand for a ferry of any kind to carry rail freight.
In theory, I could take one of the ferries from Mackinaw City to the Island (paying for my scooter as a “bicycle”), then from the Island to St Ignace. But motorscooters aren’t allowed on the island! Despite the dotted lines on maps such as Google’s, none of the privately-owned ferry services to the Island have a direct run between the peninsulas. The other plausible option would be to travel via nearby Bois Blanc Island, which allows motor vehicles, but it only has ferry service to the Lower Peninsula.
You are a BAD boy planning to break the law……. lol