As parts of Northern Michigan re-open this weekend, the Mackinac Bridge Authority is preparing for Memorial Day traffic.
Back in mid-March, the Mackinac Bridge Authority stopped accepting cash in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
That means Memorial weekend travellers will need to pay with a credit or debit card or a digital payment, like Google Pay or Apple Pay.
James Lake is a spokesperson with the Mackinac Bridge authority. He expects these types of payments to cause delays.
“Those methods take a little bit longer to process,” says Lake, “It’s really only a matter of seconds, but those seconds add up when everyone is paying that way.”
The Mackinac Bridge Authority is recommending people to travel outside of peak hours. They expect traffic to be heaviest on Friday between 2 and 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Macpass and windshield stickers will continue to be accepted to cross the bridge.