The Michigan National Guard (MING), in cooperation with the Mackinac County Office of Emergency Management, will be participating in a simulated mass evacuation of Mackinac Island on September 7, 2023 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and September 8, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exercise will take place from the Mackinac County Airport to British Landing.
Many aircraft and boats participating in the exercise will be traversing the waters between the Mackinac County Airport and British Landing on both September 7 and 8. There will also be some traffic pauses at the end of the Mackinac County Airport on the I-75 Business spur while the bridging bays will be flown to British Landing. We are asking the public to avoid the safety zone that will be in place and to be aware of potential travel delays.
The exercise will include the MING 1437th Engineer Company out of Sault Ste. Marie who will be building an alternate port for evacuation of Mackinac Island during an emergency. The 1437th is a multi-role bridge company that provides personnel and equipment to transport, assemble, disassemble, retrieve and maintain all standard and nonstandard U.S. Army bridging systems for wet or dry gap-crossings.
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