Mackinac Bridge Sets Traffic Record in July 2019
The statistics are out and the Mackinac Bridge set a new traffic record in July. For the month, a total of 612,890 cars crossed the Michigan landmark. This is an increase of 0.4% from last year’s total. July remains the busiest month for the Mackinac Bridge as thousands of tourists flock to the Upper Peninsula for vacations.
The Mackinac Bridge continues to see a rise in traffic (see traffic statistics here) over the summer months. July 2016 was the first time in more than a decade (July 2005) that the figure of vehicles crossing hit 600,000. In 2018, both July and August hit the 600,000 level with 610,322 and 608,996 vehicle crossings respectively.
The 612,890 cars crossing in July 2019 marks a small 0.4% increase in vehicles crossing from the prior year. Despite the vehicle rise, fare revenue actually declined 0.7%. Every month of 2019, except for April, has seen fare revenue decline from the prior year. This likely translates to more cars crossing the bridge and less trucks and higher fared vehicles.
Through the first seven months of the year, a total of 2,252,283 vehicles have crossed the Mackinac Bridge. This is down from last year’s total at this point year to date of 2,254,708.
Take a look at the 2019 vehicle crossing statistics to date:
| Month | Vehicles Crossing | Increase/Decrease to Last Year |
| January | 190,994 | +0.9% |
| February | 179,681 | -9.7% |
| March | 242,009 | -3.1% |
| April | 231,950 | +8.4% |
| May | 353,153 | 0 (Flat) |
| June | 449,118 | +0.5% |
| July | 612,890 | +0.4% |
In 2018, 3,914,767 vehicles were credited with crossing the Mackinac Bridge.
In 1984, the 50 millionth car crossed the bridge on September 25th.
In 1998, the 100 millionth car crossed the bridge on June 25th.
In 2009, the 150 millionth car crossed the bridge on September 6th.
As you can see the length of time to hit each 50 million car milestone continues to decrease, which means we should see the 200 millionth car cross the Mackinac Bridge sometime soon.
Our look at 60 facts and figures shared some of these milestones and is a great spot to learn more fun facts about the Mackinac Bridge.
Did you cross the Mackinac Bridge yet in 2019? How many times do you cross the bridge a year? Let us know in the comments.
