Veterans' Glass City Skyway - Toledo, OH
Posted by: 
Scouter Joe
N 41° 39.625 W 083° 30.665
17T E 290928 N 4615120
Toledo's Newest Premier Bridge
Waymark Code: WM25E0
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 09/08/2007
Views: 144
The Veterans' Glass City Skyway, formerly known as the Maumee River Crossing, is a Cable-stayed bridge on Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the city of Toledo began planning the bridge in April 1999, and construction began in Spring 2001. The project consisted of building an 8,800 foot (2,700 m) span across the Maumee River low-lying land. The main span over the Maumee River is a cable stay-type bridge with a single pylon and two spans 612'-6" (200 m) on each side of the pylon. The main span approaches are approximately 4,000 feet (1,220 m) north of the river and 3,350 feet (1,020 m) south of the Maumee. The bridge was opened on June 24, 2007.
The bridge carries three lanes of traffic in each direction. The road surface reaches a height of 130 feet (40 m) above the surface of the Maumee River. The bridge is the most expensive project ever undertaken in the history of ODOT, costing approximately US$237 million.
The main attraction of the bridge is the single pylon which contains 384 [light emitting diodes] (LED's) that are capable of creating 16.7 million potential color combinations. The LEDs shine through all the glass facing on all four sides of upper 196' feet of the main pylon. These lights should be visible from up to 3 miles (5 km) away.
The community selected a theme of "Glass" for the bridge design, choosing to honor the region's heritage in the glass manufacturing industry. The bridge was designed by FIGG (Figg Bridge Engineers, Inc.) for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The bridge is one of the first of two installations of a new cable stayed cradle system that eliminates anchorages in the pylon by carrying the stays from anchorages in the bridge deck, through the pylon and back to anchorages in the deck. The cradle system provides many benefits during construction and over the 100+ year service life of the bridge. Each strand acts independently, allowing for the selective removal, inspection and replacement of the strands.
To log this waymark post a picture of the bridge and the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.
Date Completed: 06/24/2007
Usage: Automobile
Length: 8,800 feet
WWW: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Log your find with the picture of the bridge that you like. No gpsr required in the photo...different seasons and lighting for the pictures is what will be the goal.