You Can Own A Piece Of The Most Michigan Thing There Is
A government related auction site might just have the ultimate Michigan gift. Christmas, birthday, doesn't matter. This item screams Michigan. You can now own a piece of Michigan's most iconic monument, the Mackinac Bridge.
A 5 1/2 feet X 38 feet and 5 inches deep "vintage" piece of steel deck grating from the Mighty Mac is up for auction on GovDeals.com. It can be yours for song, maybe "Hail To the Victors". The current high bid (as of Thursday, Nov. 5th) is $280, which is a bit problematic, as the minimum bid is listed is $290.
I can almost say with certainty you will probably be the only kid on your block with a piece of the Mackinac Bridge.
Now, as with anything you buy online, there's some qualifiers. According to the post: "Condition is used with corrosion and section loss appropriate to steel that is 60 years old. Each piece weighs about 2 tons." (What that means is, don't expect to load it into the back of your Honda Civic.)
Here's a more serious one, though: "Grating was originally coated with lead based paint. Much of this is gone, but Buyer will have to sign a "Hold Harmless agreement" related to the lead paint and the structural condition of the grating. The Hold Harmless agreement is an attachment to the auction ad."
But the seller is willing to help you take this off their hands. "Seller agrees to cut the grating section into two shorter pieces for ease of shipping if desired. Price of this one cut is included in the bid. No other cutting or manipulation of the grating will be done by the seller."
And finally, "Seller will load the grating for transport but is not responsible for securing, etc".
Sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a piece of Michigan and Michigan history. Take a look at the seller picture. If you can find about 50 strong people, what about making this the dock on your lake frontage? See, there's so many uses for this.