Portage Lake Waterway between Houghton and Hancock. It was completed in 1959 for $11 million.
The double-deck lift bridge built across the Portage Lake waterway in the Keweenaw Peninsula has a four-lane highway on one deck, railroad track on another. It was built by the Department in 1959 for $11 million.
The International Bridge, a series of eight arch and truss spans, crossed the St. Marys River and the famed Soo Locks between the Sault Ste. Maries of Michigan and Ontario. The two-mile-long toll bridge, built by an authority, was completed in 1962, financed through the sale of bonds by the American and Canadian governments, the State of Michigan and the Province of Ontario.
The biggest department-designed bridge was the 8,367-foot, 115-span high level bridge carrying the Fisher Freeway (I-75) over the Rouge River in Detroit. It was opened in 1966.
Ardale W. Ferguson of Benton Harbor—First Chairman of Michigan State Highway Commission.
Despite its success, administration of the massive and successful highway program stirred criticism as early as the 1960's. Motorists felt they were getting the roads they were paying for through taxes. Some government reformers, however, believed the job of elected highway commissioner was a remnant of a bygone era, noting that Michigan was the last remaining state to have one. They favored an apppointed part-time commission to set policy for the department, which would be administered by a full-time director. Divergent public attitudes contributed to adoption of a new state constitution in 1963 which put the highway system under the jurisdiction of a four-member, bipartisan
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