Details on Mackinac Bridge accident

A semi tractor-trailer tipped over on the Mackinac Bridge on Thursday evening, July 18, but the driver was uninjured and the bridge undamaged.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, a fast-moving front swept through the Straits of Mackinac. Winds at the Mackinac Bridge quickly went from over 20 mph (wind warning mode) to gusts up to 79 mph. As bridge crews were dispatched to pick up construction barrels that had blown out of place from lane closures on the bridge, Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) personnel were notified that a semi had tipped over on its side on the bridge.

Crews located the semi and found no one was injured and there was no damage to the bridge (only railing paint was scratched) although earlier reports indicated that one tension wire had been snapped.

Officials closed the bridge to traffic from about 9:15 p.m. to 12:40 a.m. to allow for the truck to be safely towed off of the bridge.