Cissel, James H. (James Harlan), 1889-

Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan; designer of the proposed Mackinac Bridge; and member of the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority.

From the description of James Harlan Cissel papers, 1934-1943. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34423379

James Harlan Cissel, born in Goodland, Kansas, June 24, 1889, was Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan for thirty-three years. A 1910 graduate of Purdue University, Professor Cissel spent five years in the engineering departments of several railroad companies before joining the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1915.

From 1933 to 1936, Cissel worked with the Michigan State Highway Department as engineer in charge of bridge design. In 1934, the state established the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority and Professor Cissel joined the agency as Consulting Engineer. In 1941, under the administration of Governor Murray D. Van Wagoner, a 4200 ft. causeway for a proposed bridge was completed stretching south into the Straits from St. Ignace. World War II temporarily stalled the effort to build a bridge across the straits of Mackinac, however, and even after the war, there was a delay in revitalizing the bridge movement. In 1950, the Mackinac Bridge Authority, which had been dissolved in 1947, was re-established. The Mackinac Bridge was built and opened to traffic on November 1, 1957 along the route Professor Cissel had originally recommended twenty years before.

A designer of many bridges, Professor Cissel was recognized as a teacher and technical consultant in the field of structural engineering. He died on January 29, 1949 at the age of fifty-nine.

From the guide to the James H. Cissel papers, 1934-1943, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)