LANSING (AP) -- The folks who travel the country looking for the dirtiest, nastiest jobs plan to make a stop next week at the Mackinac Bridge.
Mike
Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" program, and his
crew will spend Thursday and Friday filming the painting and other
preventive maintenance being done on the "Mighty Mac," which is
celebrating its 50th birthday this year.
So how do you get shots of workers poised above the watery Straits of Mackinac far below?
"A
helicopter will be used to capture some unique angles of our crews at
work," Mackinac Bridge Authority Board Chairman William Gnodtke said in
a release. He added that most motorists making the crossing between
Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas probably won't notice the filming
as they cross the 5-mile-long bridge.
While Rowe has done his
share of jobs that have left him up to his thighs in mud, splattered
with goo and decked out in a variety of grubby hardhats, gloves and
rubber boots, bridge officials say the work on the bridge is an
entirely different challenge. "I would describe our maintenance
activities as daunting or difficult, as opposed to dirty," said MBA
administrator Bob Sweeney. "It takes a certain person to meet the
challenges of the job."
The show is expected to focus on
workers painting the huge cables that run along the bridge or doing
maintenance inside one of the bridge towers, which soar 552 feet over
the water, officials said.
They've notified the Department of
Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard and other law enforcement
officials that the film crew will be there. Officials watch the bridge
closely because of the possibility of terrorism.
State
officials are still waiting to hear when the Mackinac Bridge episode
will air. "Dirty Jobs" is shown at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesdays.
------
On the Net:
Mackinac Bridge Cam
"Dirty Jobs" show
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
