Mona Lake long has been an obstacle to travelers going north or south through Muskegon County, with the only way to get around it being by the channel to Lake Michigan or the east side of the lake. Both options were a long way around though and so the idea of bridging the lake across a middle point would eventually occur with the first "float" bridge. Since that time there have been many "float" bridges but all have continued to serve as a shortcut across Mona Lake.