World’s Longest Timber-Towered Suspension Bridge in Michigan

Wood Central profiled “Michigan’s Second Bridge,” the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge. The bridge was designed and constructed by Experimental Resources (Eri).

The bridge—which opened in October 2022—spans 1,200 feet (365 meters), includes a suspended 1,023-foot walking surface (312 meters), and is 118 feet (36 meters) above ground.

“You can feel safe on it because it has been designed to hold a lot of loads,” according to Troy Garland, the structural engineer responsible for the enormous bridge, with the project peer-reviewed by Pat Machin.

The timber used in the bridge’s two towers—52 feet tall and 70 feet wide—came from a fourth-generational sawmill located at the foot of the mountain resort, Matelski Lumber Company, Wood Central reported. The towers used 133 timber members each, comprising 92 members of glulam and 41 of solid lumber.

“In addition, there are 63 steel brackets within each tower, with the timber members (not including the baseplates) in the towers using more than 8,000 bolts in the brackets alone,” Eri said.