Although construction of the Mackinac Bridge began 50 years ago, Margaret Halava remembers the details of the bridge as if it was built yesterday.

The bridge, which celebrated its 50th anniversary marking the beginning of construction in May, sways above the Straits of Mackinac with two main white towers, and nearly five miles of roadway.

Halava, 86, of Okemos, worked as the administrative assistant to Prentiss M. Brown, chairman of the Mackinac Bridge Authority and Lawrence A. Rubin, executive officer of the Mackinac Bridge Authority from 1950-83.

"I met people from all over the world and made many friends, and kept in touch daily with hundreds of contractors," Halava said.

As their assistant, the former MSU student met with contractors and builders, as well as lawmakers, to try and get the bridge built. The "Mighty Mac" is five miles long, connects Michigan's two peninsulas and cost $99.8 million to build from 1954 through 1957 by the hands of 3,500 workers.

Halava said she got involved with bridge construction while working as a secretary for J. Carl McMonagle, former president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. While there, Rubin approached her to come work with him as his administrative assistant.

"I left my job for an uncertain venture," Halava said. "But I never ever regretted it. I absolutely loved it."

Halava was not the only local person involved in the construction of the "Mighty Mac," which is the third longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest in the Western Hemisphere. East Lansing resident Bill Cochran, 81, also said he enjoyed the years he spent on the Mackinac Bridge Authority, 1949-66.

"It was one of the great adventures of my life," Cochran said, who was in his early 30s during the construction. "It changed my life in a lot of ways - it was an exciting thing to be involved with for a guy my age."

Cochran became involved with the authority when Gov. G. Mennen Williams asked him to work as his campaign manager. Williams discovered residents in the Upper Peninsula felt isolated because of the lack of connection between the peninsulas, Cochran said. A ferry was the only means to cross before the bridge.

"People in the Upper Peninsula felt like the people in the Lower Peninsula didn't appreciate them," Cochran said. "They felt like the Lower Peninsula's step children, they felt like they should be part of Wisconsin because they were more close knit with them."

Cochran was part of the committee that examined whether a bridge could be built, and helped to put together a proposal for what would become the bridge.

He then became a member of the newly appointed Mackinac Bridge Authority that picked the engineers and designers who created the bridge. Cochran said despite its report, many people in the financial and designing communities were skeptical about the bridge's success.

"People wondered if we could build a bridge that would generate enough traffic to pay it off," Cochran said.

He was confident, however, that the bridge's designer, Dr. David B. Steinman, designed the bridge well enough to withstand the cold winds of the Straits.

"The skeptics were satisfied though, because David B. Steinman's work was designed with materials so strong that they realized they had nothing to be skeptical about," Cochran said of the engineer's plan.

Fifty years later, Mackinac Bridge Authority administrator Bob Sweeney said the structure, whose main tower is approximately 552 feet above water, has withstood time and the one million cars that travel across it every year. The authority maintains the 1,024,500-ton bridge's quality and repaints its white towers.

Sweeney added the bridge is not just a connection between upper and lower Michigan.

"The bridge is a national icon, it's a symbol of Michigan," he said.

People who have traveled across the bridge understand its importance as well.

"I visited when I was a child and thought it was really cool," MSU graduate Elizabeth Rzepka said. "I was always scared that I was going to blow off the edge."

Many who have walked the bridge have fond memories as well.

"Just knowing that we built that bridge to get from one side of our state to the other side makes me feel free," said Denise Pelham, 48, of Jackson. "It's kind of a scary thing to be over the water like that. It's a feeling you can't describe."

Halava and Cochran both said they never had any doubts the bridge could withstand time.

"I'm not surprised, but delighted that it's been as successful as it has and turned the non-believers into believers," Halava said.

"Steinman told us the bridge would last as long as the pyramids."