Michigan oil slicks turn out to be record-setting gathering of Redhead ducks

[Still Waters]

On December 21 of last year, the Mackinac Bridge Authority started receiving calls from concerned divers regarding a possible oil spill in the area. With each passing day, the number of calls regarding the oil spill kept growing, which makes sense, considering that the black mass that had formed on the water appeared to be growing. However, it wasn’t oil, but a record-setting gathering of Redhead ducks. In the beginning, authorities counted around 7,000 of them gathered together under and around Mackinac Bridge. Their number has grown since then, and there are now several tens of thousands of birds making up the “oil spill”.

https://www.odditycentral.com/animals/michigan-oils-slick-turns-out-to-be-record-setting-duck-gathering.html

[Myles]

I've driven across that bridge a few times.   It is a very cool drive.

 

The bridge celebrated its 150 millionth vehicle crossing on September 6, 2009.^[31]

• Length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier: 7,400 feet (2,256 m).^[1]
• Total width of the roadway: 54 feet (16.5 m)^[1]
  • Two outside lanes: 12 feet (3.7 m) wide each^[1]
  • Two inside lanes: 11 feet (3.4 m) wide each^[1]
  • Center mall: 2 feet (0.61 m)
  • Catwalk, curb and rail width: 3 feet (0.91 m) on each side
• Width of stiffening truss in the suspended span: 68 feet (20.7 m).^[1]
• Depth of stiffening truss: 38.1 feet (11.6 m)^[2][1]
• Height of the roadway at mid-span: approximately 200 feet (61 m) above water level.^[1]
• Vertical clearance at normal temperature:
  • 155 feet (47 m) at the center of the main suspension span.^[1]
  • 135 feet (41 m) at the boundaries of the 3,000-foot-wide (914 m) navigation channel.^[1]
• Construction cost: $99.8 million (equivalent to $747 million in 2021^[14])^[1]
• Height of towers above water: 552 feet (168 m)^[1]
• Max. depth of towers below water: 210 feet (64 m)^[1]
• Depth of water beneath the center of the bridge, 250 feet (76 m)^[1]
• Main cables:
  • Number of wires in each cable: 12,580^[1]
  • Diameter of each wire: 0.196 inches (0.498 cm)^[1]
  • Diameter of each cable: 24.5 inches (62.23 cm)^[1]
  • Total length of wire in main cables: 42,000 miles (68,000 km).^[1]
• Total vehicle crossings, 2005: 4,236,491 (average 11,608 per day)

[Swede]

57 minutes ago, Still Waters said:

On December 21 of last year, the Mackinac Bridge Authority started receiving calls from concerned divers regarding a possible oil spill in the area. With each passing day, the number of calls regarding the oil spill kept growing, which makes sense, considering that the black mass that had formed on the water appeared to be growing. However, it wasn’t oil, but a record-setting gathering of Redhead ducks. In the beginning, authorities counted around 7,000 of them gathered together under and around Mackinac Bridge. Their number has grown since then, and there are now several tens of thousands of birds making up the “oil spill”.

https://www.odditycentral.com/animals/michigan-oils-slick-turns-out-to-be-record-setting-duck-gathering.html

What a poor piece of editing. Should that not read drivers?

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