$100 'Pay It Forward' Gesture Eases Backups On Mackinac Bridge

ST. IGNACE, MI — Having to wait hours to access the only road home can be frustrating enough, but when traffic is backed up on top of that, that’s a recipe for a stressful trip.

That’s what was in store for many drivers on the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, Sunday night. The bridge was closed for hours due to a bomb threat.

After nothing was found, the already-late drivers immediately rushed for the southbound lanes to get home from their weekend getaways.

But one woman’s good deed prevented an even bigger nightmare for those behind her on the road, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Kim Nowack, bridge director of the Mackinac Bridge Authority, told the Free Press one woman gave a toll collector a $100 bill and asked for it to be paid forward “until you run out of money.” The driver was alone in her car, and told the collector the drivers behind her “deserved a break.”

The “Pay it Forward” concept on the Mackinac Bridge is nothing new, although Nowack told the Free Press this is the first time she knows of where someone has paid $100, good enough to pay the bill for 24 cars behind her at $4 a car.

The woman wasn't the only one to pay it forward on the bridge Sunday. Nowack also told the Free Press that while bridge workers expected drivers to be tense, many of them were compassionate and understanding.

Related: Mackinac Bridge Reopens After Bomb Threat