Annual Bridge Walk returns

40,000 people or more take to the Mackinac Bridge every Labor Day for one of Michigan’s enduring Labor Day traditions.

It’s the annual Bridge Walk. And Governor Rick Snyder followed the tradition by leading the procession across the bridge starting at 7 am.

The five–mile walk starts on the St. Ignace side of the bridge each year and ends in Mackinaw City. Labor Day is the one time each year that pedestrians can use the bridge across the Straits of Mackinac.

The walk was held for the first time in June 1958, as part of the bridge’s dedication ceremony.

It was moved to labor day the following year, and it’s been held then every year since. The governor has led the walk every year except for 1992, when president George H.W. Bush led the walk as part of his re–election campaign.