Congratulations! You have found the
home site for the Mackinac Bridge Antique Tractor Crossing.
Official name: Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Parade & Show 2012
The Mackinac Bridge opened Nov. 1957 to span the straights of Mackinac and
connect Michigan's Upper Peninsula with the lower mitten. The Mackinac
Bridge is 5 miles in length and the towers are 500' tall. Almost as
tall as the Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. The bridge is 200 feet at
mid-span above the water. The gradual grade will fool you until you get to
the center and look down below at a ship and see how small the crew looks.
The Mighty Mac as we call it in Michigan, undergoes paint jobs yearly.
Millions of vehicles cross the bridge every year. With one exception.
Tractors. In 2007 the Mackinac Bridge Authority, authorized Owosso Tractor
Parts to form a parade of tractors over the bridge. The first year there
were 614 antique tractors crossed over from Mackinaw City to St. Ignace
where they were staged at the Kewadin Shores Casino for public viewing
during the weekend. Since then there has been 811 tractors in 2009,
789 tractors in 2010 and a record of 820 tractors in September 2011.
During the 2011 event there were 36 tractor clubs participating.
Tractor drivers came from all over Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin,
Canada. Some came from the Kentucky/Indiana border and southern Illinois
(over 600 miles one way). Hauling
their tractor
Bob Baumgras
Owosso Tractor Parts
Owosso, Michigan
s hundreds of miles for a chance to drive over the Mighty Mac.
Got your interest yet. Well, imagine unloading nearly 800 tractors in
one field in one day. Nearly all of the tractors pull into the staging
area in Mackinaw City on Thursday the day before the event to line up with
their respective clubs. Friday morning around 9:00am we have the
Mackinaw City parade and the Mackinac Bridge parades leave the staging area
at the same time. It takes about 50 minutes to clear over 800 tractors
from the lot. The Mackinac Bridge Parade travel directly to the bridge
and enter the bridge with the Mackinac Bridge Authority directing them.
The Mackinaw City parade travels through town and get on the bridge right
behind the bridge parade. The tractors travel approximately 18 miles to the
Kewadin Shores Casino which is five miles north of St. Ignace, Michigan.
The whole travel time from beginning to end is about 3 1/2 hours.
All clubs interested in participating must register their club first and be
in touch with our company to participate. Above are Rules & Regulations for
the event on the 2012 event page.
So, if you are a tractor enthueist and interested in the event, then we
would encourage you to come visit us in September and watch the Antique
Tractor Parade like no other. If you would like to be a sponsor of our
event for advertising purposes, please feel free to contact us.
Click the Link below that you are interested in.
1-888-530-4554
Thanks for visiting and we hope you visit often.
Bob Baumgras
Owosso Tractor Parts
Owosso Michigan www.owossotractorparts.com
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