The federal interstate highway program was begun under President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, and it generated a considerable amount of steel fabrication for bridges by GLFEA members. Leading that category was the famous Mackinac Bridge, linking the Upper Peninsula with the state's southern mitten. Thick books have been written about the suspension bridge's construction so only a brief overview will be provided here.

Construction started in the spring of 1954, with groundbreakings on May 7 in Mackinaw City and on May 8 in St.

Office building and canopy construction for General Motors Corp., June 16, 1968. The general contractor is Bryant & Detwelier Co., Detroit, with Paragon Bridge & Steel Co., Novi, fabricating and erecting structural steel.

Ignace. The bridge's superstructure was built by the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel Corp. The first of its 4,851,700 rivets was driven by Jim Sweeny, Sr., a member of Iron Workers Local 25. It went in to connect one of the anchor bars used to hold the bridge's cables.

Caisson construction occupied the first and much of the second year of the bridge's construction, with the initial piece of vertical tower steel placed on July 2, 1955. The towers had been fabricated in Ambridge, Pa., and pre-assembled lying on the ground to make sure everything fit. A description of how they were assembled on their piers is provided in the 100th year history of Iron Workers Local 25, entitled Those Who Dare: Skywalkers of the Motor City, by Michael Hartman, published by the local in 2001:

In its May 18, 1957, issue, Michigan Contractor & Builder reported that the project was approximately 80% complete, and was on schedule for the bridge's November opening. Steel truss construction was underway for its remaining north approach, between span 22-23. The trusses were cantilevered 327.5 ft. southward from pier 23. A photograph shows one truss supported by a derrick mounted on a barge. "As many as 3,082 men have been employed at the site by ten different contractors," the article stated.

The mighty Big Mac bridge wasn't the only project capturing the interest of Michigan's steel construction

The Mackinac Bridge under construction, 1955-56. The American Bridge Div. of U.S. Steel built the bridge's superstrucyure.

industry. In March 1955 the 11 story Hammond Building, built in 1889 and considered Michigan's first tower to be fully framed in structural steel, was purchased by National Bank of Detroit (now known as Bank One). It was demolished to make room for the bank's 13 story tall headquarters. The new building was designed under the direction of Sol King, director of architecture at Albert Kahn Associates, Detroit, with assistance from a designer, John Haro, and consultant Walter Saunders of the University of Michigan. Completed in 1959, the building was cited in 1960 by the American Institute of Steel Construction as "one of the nation's 12 most beautiful steel structures."

Arrow Wrecking Co. of Dearborn handled the Hammond Building's demolition, using an American Model 300 crane fitted with a 70 ft. boom and a 3/4 cu. yd. Erie clamshell bucket. Bryant & Detwiler, general builders of Detroit, was the project's general contractor and steel erection got underway on January 31, 1958. A total of 2,125 tons of structural steel for the 281 ft. by 130 ft. building was fabricated by Bethlehem Steel, which also erected it. A pair of Manitowoc 3000 cranes was used in the steel erection process, along with derricks.

The first piece of vertical steel for the new building was a 30 ft. column located near the corner of Griswold and Congress. Donald F. Valley, an executive vice president of the bank, tightened one of its four anchor bolts to get the steel erection process officially underway.

The spring of 1957 saw completion of the national headquarters for Ford Motor's Lincoln Division in the Novi-Wixom area. Built on a 325 acre site, the manufacturing plant originally was designed to produce 112,000 cars on a straight time basis. Ground was broken on Dec. 2, 1955, and the project was officially completed on April 16, 1957, in 16 months and 13 days.

To perform the construction more than 200 contractors used 2,500 workers. American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel erected the project's structural steel with metal decking provided by Inland Steel Products.

Also seen that spring was the construction of the Grand Circus Park underground garage, to temporarily shelter

Union Bank & Trust in the mid-1960s

1,043 cars in downtown Detroit. H.K. Ferguson Co., Cleveland, Ohio, served as its design/build contractor. "The year 1957 could well go down in Detroit's history as the Year of the Municipal Garages," the April 20, 1957, issue of Michigan Contractor & Builder noted in its unsigned article on the project. "In January, the 587 car Second-Howard surface garage opened. In February, the 700 car Ford Auditorium underground garage opened."

By that time, construction was well underway on the first phase of what's now known as the Cobo Center. In March 1958 the keystone section of the facility's convention hall was set in place. Whitehead & Kales Co., River Rouge, placed the keystone, under a contract with R.C. Mahon Co., Detroit.

The keystone resembled a spool in appearance, measuring 15 ft. in diameter and extending to a length of 30 ft. Two cranes had to hoist it together to a height of 70 ft. to place it where it belonged.

The Portage Lake vertical lift bridge, linking the Upper Peninsula cities of Houghton with Hancock and the Keewenaw Peninsula, was dedicated in the late spring of 1960. Designed by Hazelet & Erdal of Chicago, Ill., the bridge's superstructure was built by the American Bridge Division of U.S. Steel. The bridge has two levels, with the upper used for cars and trucks and the lower one for trains. Weighing 110 million pounds, the two levels are raised as high as 100 ft. to allow passage for ship traffic. The bridge's length is 1,310 ft.

Composite design, uniting steel framing with concrete floors into a rigid structural system, came to Michigan in 1960, for a manufacturing plant for Steelcase Inc. in Grand Rapids. The two level plant measured 1,146 ft. by 280 ft. and was designed by the J.&J. Daverman Co., of Grand Rapids, with the Haven-Busch Co., Grandville, fabricating and erecting its 3,400 tons of structural steel. At the time it was considered the largest of its kind in the country.

Construction on the current home of the GLFEA - today called the 1001 Woodward Building - began in early 1963. The 23 story, twin tower building was erected to serve as the Detroit headquarters for First Federal Savings & Loan. George A. Fuller Co., Chicago, lll., was general contractor. Erection of its steel frame was performed by R.C. Mahon Co., Detroit.

On March 20, 1965, Wayne State University hosted a structural conference that attracted hundreds from across the state as well as the nation. The GLFEA was one of several sponsors. The chief structural engineer for Albert Kahn Associates, Daniel H. Shanon was the keynote speaker and Merrill M. Bush, executive vice president of Giffels & Rossetti Inc., Detroit, was the afternoon moderator. Speakers at the event's steel session were James W. Gillespie, U.S. Steel Corp., who discussed "Structural Steel Framing for High-Rise Apartment Buildings" and two representatives from the Michigan State Highway Department, who talked about bridge design and highway project management. One was Andrew J. Sinelli, a bridge engineer. The other was Lawrence (Larry) W. Martin, freeway coordinating engineer. Martin was the son of the GLFEA's executive director of that era, J. Gardner Martin. Larry would later end his career in the highway industry as executive director of the Michigan Road Builders Association.

Albert Kahn Associate was again honored by the American Institute of Steel Construction, winning a 1965 architectural award for its design of the Power & Generating Facilities for Traverse City. Melco Construction Inc. was that project's general contractor and the Paragon Division of Portec Inc. served as its steel fabricator.

This sampling of just a handful of the many projects that made headlines during the 1945-70 period may generate an impression of relative calm. The era saw its share of disputes, especially in the realm of labor-management relations, where unions and contractors occasionally arm wrestled over wages. Disagreements would arise but eventually they were resolved, and working partnerships were quickly revived. Certainly there was a sufficient major meeting of the minds to establish the health, pension, and apprenticeship programs that bolster the industry today. While those who put these programs together probably didn't realize it, as one looks back from a 21st century perspective, the significance of these accomplishments can't be understated. The steel construction industry might not even be functioning today if it had kept the wage and no benefits policy of the age prior to World War II.

Between 1945 and 1970, wages for members of Iron Workers Local 25, for example, increased from $1.80 an hour with no benefits (equivalent to $17.81 in 2001 dollars) to $9.61 with benefits ($44.21, 2001-D.) The actual 2001 wage and benefits rate for its members is $42.17, due to the inability of the wage package of nearly every worker to

"...wage and benefit rates for ironworkers in 1955 were $3.60 per hour."

keep pace with the heavy inflation that racked the nation during the 1970s and part of the 1980s. Although only partial records are available from Operating Engineers Local 324, wage and benefit rates for operating engineers in 1955 were $3.30 per hour (compared with the $3.60 rate then set for ironworkers) rising to a high of $4.62 for a master mechanic ($27.42, in 2001-D) on May 1, 1963. Typical health insurance and pension programs started in the mid-1950s and running through the mid-1960s cost from a low of eight cents to a high of $0.20 per hour.

Iron Workers Local 25 engaged in a six week strike in 1958 and won a 30 cent per hour increase over two years. It struck for a short period in 1961 to win a change from collecting fringe benefits from a cents per hour charge to a percentage formula (4% for health and welfare, 3% for pension, and 2.75% for vacation.) It struck again in 1963 and on May 1, 1965, launched a strike that required the International office of the union to withdraw its strike authorization, which it finally did on June 13, 1965. Despite this, the local was still able to win a wage and benefit increase to $5.39 per hour ($30.51, 2001-D).

The 1965 strike impacted construction in 34 of Michigan's 83 counties, involving some 2,000 ironworkers. Iron Workers Local 25 had been asking for a wage increase to $5.75 plus benefits before its strike authorization was withdrawn. The local's victory was partial, requiring a willingness on the part of stubborn individuals to swallow their pride and compromise, but eventually a balance was reached.

Ironically, while this strike was taking place, the halls of Congress were resounding with calls for the repeal of Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, a provision that allows states to enact so-called "right to work" laws. Opponents of the repeal used phrases similar to those voiced today, railing against "compulsory unionism" and for giving "each worker the right to choose - to decide for himself." One editorialist who supported the "right to work" even criticized President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was pushing for Section 14(b) repeal, by pointing out that in 1949 then U.S. Sen. Johnson had voted against its elimination.

Apparently the editorialist knew what bandwagon to stand on. Section 14(b) still remains in that law. And the "right to work" still raises hackles today.