Larry Rubin (left), first executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority, and current executive secretary Bob Sweeney share their experiences on the bridge that is a major part of both of their lives. Mackinac Bridge operations are far more sophisticated now than they were in 1957, when the bridge first opened to traffic, said Larry Rubin, the first executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority, who oversaw all operations.

Mr. Rubin, now 94 years old, is sitting in his living room overlooking that impressive bridge, and next to him is Bob Sweeney, 45, the current executive secretary of the bridge. They talk about how bridge management was then, and how it is now.

"When I started out, my office [telephone] number was two-five," said Mr. Rubin.

He remembers calls he often made to New York, when the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) was seeking funding for the bridge. First, he would be connected to a phone operator, and then to a secretary.

"Who's calling, please?" The secretary would ask. Mr. Rubin recalls a typical conversation as though it were yesterday.

"Lawrence Rubin, Mackinac Bridge Authority," his response.

"Well, so-in-so is not in," Mr. Rubin is told. "He'll call you back as soon as he can. What's your number, please?"

"Two-five," he always would respond.

"What's the rest of it?" the New York secretary would ask.

"It's just two-five," he would reply.

"Wow, where is that?" the secretary would wonder.

Mr. Rubin and Mr. Sweeney share a laugh.

The brief, yet often repeated telephone conversation Mr. Rubin had reflects the challenges faced in 1950. At that time, construction of the bridge was a plan on paper, and the Mackinac Bridge Authority's priority was to seek financing from New York bankers, who had trouble understanding the need to connect Michigan's two peninsulas at all. The largest populated town, Detroit, was 300 miles away, after all.

"It's a big operation now," said Mr. Rubin of the bridge.

Previous staff had the foresight to put procedures in place that now allow bridge crews to focus on maintenance and engineering projects, which continue to increase as the bridge ages, said Mr. Sweeney.

"It was a well run machine, when I arrived on the scene," he noted.

"Things that were very fortunate for me, when I came to the bridge, were a very talented staff and very well defined procedures and policies to operate the bridge," said Mr. Sweeney. "Those challenges were taken care of by people like Larry and the other executive secretaries ahead of me."

The MBA uses the same consulting engineering firm that designed the bridge, which Mr. Sweeney also credits for its smooth operation. The company performs annual inspections on the bridge.

Before being purchased by Parsons Corporation of New York, with an office in Southfield, the company was called Steinman, Boyton, Gronquist, and London, and was headed by David B. Steinman, who designed the bridge.

"This may sound silly," said Mr. Rubin. "Whether I look out [the window] at 3 a.m. or 3 p.m., I get a full view of the bridge and I love it. I never get tired of looking at the bridge."

Mr. Sweeney agreed.

"Climbing underneath the bridge, that gives you a whole different perspective," said Mr. Sweeney. "That's a spectacular sight, too. Of course, a lot of people can't experience that unless you're working on the bridge."

Both men share similar memories of climbing up to the tower, with concerns of making it through a series of small openings while dressed in winter clothing, knowing that heading back down would be even more difficult.

Mr. Rubin and Mr. Sweeney both knew they wanted to manage operations at the bridge, and both actively sought the position.

Before taking the post in 2002, Mr. Sweeney, a St. Ignace native, worked as a civil engineer for more than 15 years and was employed by the Michigan Department of Transportation managing a six-county area near Cadillac, with a goal of some day working at the bridge. When he heard that then-Executive Secretary Hank Lotoszinski was retiring, he applied for the job, beating out 12 other candidates. This August will mark Mr. Sweeney's fifth year at the bridge.

In 1950, Mr. Rubin, originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts, and then executive director for the Michigan Good Roads Federation, also knew he wanted the position. He offered to serve, without pay, as executive secretary for the MBA because he thought the position would help him in his role at the Federation. Two years after taking the MBA position, Mr. Rubin resigned from his job at the Federation to work full time for the MBA. It was a position he would hold for 33.5 years. In fact, he is the longest serving executive secretary at the bridge.

Those serving in the position include Mr. Rubin from 1950 to 1983, Walter North, who later became a state senator, from 1984 to 1992, Monte Endres from 1992 to 1997, Hank Lotoszinski from 1997 to 2002, and Mr. Sweeney from 2002 to the present.

Once the bridge was constructed, keeping bankers and investors happy was a challenge, said Mr. Rubin. When the bridge opened November 1, 1957, the $3.25 toll was based on car ferry rates, although slightly less than an average crossing, said Mr. Rubin. At that time, passage on the ferry was $3.25 for a car and driver and 25¢ for each additional passenger, which averaged $3.40 per car.

"I don't think the fare was a hindrance to anyone who had business or wanted to vacation, as so many people did in the Upper Peninsula," he said of the bridge toll. "It was a small portion of any vacation trip to the vacation area of the state."

While some people did complain about the fares, Mr. Rubin said, "The advantage of the bridge far outweighed any petty complaints."

Demands from bankers and underwriters proved to be a challenge, however, said Mr. Rubin.

"Financial matters were a problem," he said. "We had the bankers and underwriters' representatives and the bond holder representatives watching us," he said. "They wanted their investments to be successful."

At that time, said Mr. Rubin, a clause in the funding documents required the MBA to make a 20% profit on bridge revenue.

"We didn't achieve that in the early years," he said, and the financial representatives wanted a solution, which came in the form of a toll increase.

Fares were raised from $3.25 per car to $3.50 a car, and then again to $3.75 a car.

Following the rate hike, a complaint from an Upper Peninsula House of Representatives member made headlines in Wisconsin. The man crossed the bridge on his way to Lansing and referred to the MBA as "I believe it was 'thieves without horse pistols'," said Mr. Rubin.

The MBA board was greatly dissatisfied about the negative publicity and "it did fall upon my ears very strongly," Mr. Rubin remembers.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before traffic increased and the MBA was able to reduce the toll, he said.

"We virtually get no complaints on our tolls right now," said Mr. Sweeney. "One of our biggest challenges is to keep our tolls to a level that satisfies our customers."

The toll rate for cars is $2.50 per crossing and $1.50 for those using the commuter discount. Bridge operations are funded by toll revenue and interest on investments.

Most customers now are more concerned over the speed at processing tolls, said Mr. Sweeney. The tourist season increases near the end of June, he said. For example, on a recent day, approximately 13,000 vehicles crossed the bridge Monday, June 25.

"When they have to wait a minute, sometimes that is too long," he said.

Industry standards for processing vehicles through toll booths is about 350 cars per hour, while the Mackinac Bridge toll collectors will process up to 700 cars per hour, said Mr. Sweeney.

Before the bridge, when the ferries were running, vehicles would wait in long lines.

"We provided a 10-minute crossing to replace what could be a 17-hour crossing," said Mr. Rubin. "It was a tremendous, tremendous improvement."

The ferries did the best they could, he said. There also was a concern with safety. With ferries traveling north and south across the Straits and cargo freighters passing west to east, an "occasional scraping occurred," said Mr. Rubin.

"It was inevitable there would be a loss of life" eventually, he said. "It didn't happen, but it was inevitable."

The construction of the bridge that now employs Mr. Sweeney is the very reason his father, Aaron "Mickey" Sweeney, retired as the captain of the car ferry Vacationland, which ended service after the bridge opened. Later, the elder Mr. Sweeney became a maintenance superintendent with the Michigan State Highway Department, now known as the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

The MBA provides oversight and policy decisions regarding the bridge and is an autonomous entity within MDOT.

In the early years of the bridge, Mr. Rubin said the annual budget was approximately $5 million. For the coming 2008 fiscal year beginning October 1, Mr. Sweeney said, the maintenance budget is approximately $17.5 million, while in comparison, MDOT's budget is more than $3 billion, he said.

Now, that the bridge is 50 years old, the primary challenges faced by the staff are engineering and maintenancerelated.

"It was only natural the budget would increase," said Mr. Rubin. "One reason, the bridge is getting older, and the other reason is inflation."

Environmental requirements also have added to costs of maintaining the bridge. With the current $70 million painting project, about a third of the cost is for containing paint and spent abrasives so they do not fall into Great Lakes waters.

"Since I've been there, that's one of the areas our staff has increased, primarily because there are more and more operations going on every year," said Mr. Sweeney. "We are fortunate we have a very talented staff and can do most of the maintenance in house. Our consulting engineers are very impressed with what our staff does."

Maintenance and preservation processes are developed internally, said Mr. Sweeney, citing the example of replacing a section of the steel open grate on the bridge deck. He estimates the first-time replacement took five times longer than it does now, since crews have gained experience. The first year a grate was replaced, only one section was completed. In 2007, crews replaced 11 sections of grating.

"That's a perfect example on how we get better at it every year," he said. "We have it right down to a science."

The bridge has an unlimited lifespan with continual maintenance and preservation work, say both men. Mr. Rubin prefers to quote Dr. Steinman, "'If properly maintained, it will last forever.'"

Mr. Sweeney agrees.

"It has an infinite life," said Mr. Sweeney. "If we repair and replace components as they wear out, the bridge will last forever."