Michigan's Cheapest Suspension Bridge Has Lasted Over a Century

Croswell — Turns out, most bridges are expensive. The Canadians recently dumped $6.4 billion of their Monopoly money into the Gordie Howe Bridge, which hasn’t opened yet.

But not all bridges cost much to build and maintain. The Croswell Swinging Bridge in Michigan’s Thumb has cost next to nothing during more than a century of use.

It has the distinction of being Michigan’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge, and it’s one of the most unique pieces of small-town infrastructure. It hangs over the Black River and connects downtown to Riverbend Park.

The swinging bridge was built in 1905 using cables from the Michigan Sugar Company. The critical infrastructure connecting the town cost $300.

Granted, $300 back in 1905 was much more than it is today—somewhere over $10,000 in 2026 dollars. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ official inflation calculator only goes back to 1913, but it’s clear times have changed.

It also wasn’t the safest bridge you could image: The 139-foot suspension bridge had no handrails. At one point, it was just boards over thick wires over the river, some 20-30 feet below.

Thankfully, handrail cables were eventually added for another $150. And that was the only improvement the bridge needed until 2006, when its 128 boards were replaced. The total for those repairs? $1,300.

That means Croswell has enjoyed 121 years of being able to get over the river to the park for just $1,750 (not adjusted for inflation). Show me a more cost-effective structure and I’ll pay your next toll over the Mackinac Bridge.

The suspension bridge really swings when you’re on it. It’s safe for kids now with a handrail and a fence.

One couple ahead of me picked their dogs up the stairs and then made them walk on the bridge. The animals were unfazed—it was just another Friday heading home from the park.

Local kids use it, too. When I visited the bridge, a few boys were fishing in the river underneath the stairs. They asked me the time, ostensibly to avoid getting home late for dinner.

As I was leaving, another boy with a rod was beelining across the bridge to meet up with his friends in the park. The scene was straight out of the Andy Griffith Show, and the bridge makes it all possible.

There are other distinctly Mayberry-esque qualities to the swinging bridge. It has a sign on the end closer to downtown that reads: “BE KIND TO YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW.”

For many years, a sign at the other end said: “Love Ye One Another.”

For some reason, these sentiments ring truer than the trite phrases you see on bumper stickers or the “I think everybody should be nice to everybody” sign just off Woodward in Birmingham.

Maybe it’s because the these phrases are on a time-tested bridge instead of over-designed slogans meant to be glimpsed in hurried passing.

Or maybe it’s because Croswell is one of Michigan’s many small towns where people actually know and take care of one another.

The Croswell Swinging Bridge sways over the mud-stained river no matter what modernity brings to the people who cross over it. It’s an enduring piece of the community, holding up everyone in Croswell.