'Grate' Photo Wins Photographer A Trip To The Top Of The Mackinac Bridge

By Edward Cardenas

SOUTHFIELD (CBS Detroit) - A photo taken by Lansing resident looking through a grate on the Mackinac Bridge, and down nearly 200 feet to the straits below, was randomly selected as the grand prize winner of the Michigan Department of Transportation's 2014 Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk social media photo contest.

Andrea Martineau's photo shared with MDOT on Instagram was randomly selected by computer from more than 270 submissions from participants in the annual Labor Day event as the grand prize winner - a trip to the top of the Mackinac Bridge. Martineau will be able to take a trip to the top of bridge in 2015.

"This social media event helps show the world what an exciting experience the annual Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk truly is," said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle, in a release. "If you've never made the trip to take part in this Pure Michigan tradition, there's always next year."

This was the third year for MDOT's bridge walk social media promotion, with a variety of memories submitted including 245 photos and two videos. Last year, 230 memories were submitted.

Submissions came from Michiganders, and from states including California, Wyoming, and North Carolina.

Judy Wiltse of Nipomo, Calif., won a Pure Michigan gift pack for being the person to travel the farthest to walk the bridge this year and share her experience with MDOT on social media.

MDOT also created a Storify page featuring photos from the 2014 Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk.