The Place
The Anthony Wayne Bridge, commonly called simply the High Level Bridge, is Toledo's only historic high level bridge, and it is a defining landmark for the city. Toledo has other Maumee River crossings, some of which are historic, but they are low level crossings with movable spans to provide for navigation.
This impressive bridge was constructed in 1931. The superstructure of this bridge was built by the McClintic-Marshall Company, which is the same company that built the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Waddell and Hardesty were consulting engineers for the Anthony Wayne Bridge.
The bridge features an attractive tower design. The towers feature various lattice patterns, and some of the structural steel on them is itself latticed. The top and bottom horizontal portions of the tower bracing above the roadway have a slight arch to them. The towers do not have the extremely tall feeling that some suspension bridges have, because of a medium span length coupled with a wide four-lane roadway on this bridge create the illusion of shorter towers. This is unlike the Fort Steuben Bridge, which is also a medium-length suspension span (actually within a foot of being the exact length of the Anthony Wayne Bridge!), but it has a narrow two-lane deck, so the towers look very tall.
The bridge contains a traditional three design of three suspended spans, one between towers, and one at end end next to the towers. The suspender cables for this bridge extend down from the main cable in pairs. Stiffening for the deck of the Anthony Wayne bridge is accomplished via a through plate girder design. The bridge features a Warren deck truss approach span that is located next to each of the end suspended spans. These approach truss spans feature riveted connections, and v-lacing/lattice. Original decorative sidewalk railings are present on the bridge. The pattern of the railing used on the bridge bears a striking resemblance to a standard railing design used in Michigan and Ontario.
ODOT has chosen to rehabilitate the existing historic bridge, rather than demolish and replace Toledo's only monumental-sized historic bridge. The project is slated to begin in 2013. Rehabilitation was the right decision to make, and ODOT deserves to be thanked for making this decision. However, to leave the commentary at that alone without a critical evaluation of the actual scope and method of work in the proposed rehabilitation project for this bridge would be detrimental to other bridge owners who might be exploring what the "best practices" for historic bridge rehabilitation are. The proposed replacement project includes the replacement of significant portions of original bridge material. In particular, the proposed project involves the demolition and replacement the deck truss approach spans with a completely different non-truss structure type, such as pre-stressed concrete box beams. Located directly next to the suspension spans, the deck truss approach spans not only have a major impact on the appearance of the bridge, they are the most historically and technologically significant spans on the bridge aside from the suspended spans. Removal of the deck truss spans will have a dramatic negative effect on the historic integrity of the bridge, reducing the bridge's historic integrity from excellent to perhaps merely fair.
Perhaps the only way it was feasible to continue to have the historic Anthony Wayne Bridge remain a part of Toledo's skyline was to have a rehabilitation with these aggressive alterations. If that truly is the case, then ODOT is right to execute the rehabilitation as proposed. However, a detailed photo-documentation of the bridge conducted in 2011 raises some serious questions as to whether the alterations are needed. The trusses look to be in decent shape. Inspection reports do point to pack rust and section loss, but most of this deterioration appears to be confined to edges and corners, and could probably be repaired. ODOT did comment that there have been problems with the expansion joints on the truss spans, and replacing them will correct this problem. However, HistoricBridges.org suggests that perhaps another way to solve this problem could be found. Different types of expansion bearing and joints are available, and so perhaps a change in design of the expansion system would also correct any problems.-
Historic Bridges
The Person
Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to brigadier general and the nickname "Mad Anthony". He later served as the Senior Officer of the Army on the Ohio Country frontier and led the Legion of the United States.
Wayne was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and worked as a tanner and surveyor after attending the College of Philadelphia. He was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and helped raise a Pennsylvania militia unit in 1775. During the Revolutionary War, he served in the Invasion of Quebec, the Philadelphia campaign, and the Yorktown campaign. Although his reputation suffered after defeat in the Battle of Paoli, he won wide praise for his leadership in the 1779 Battle of Stony Point where he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. After being promoted to major general in 1783, he retired from the Continental Army soon after. Anthony Wayne was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the state of Georgia. In 1780, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
After the war, Wayne held a brief career in congress and private business. Following St. Clair's defeat, Wayne was recalled by President Washington from civilian life to command of U.S. forces in the Northwest Indian War, where he defeated the British-backed Northwestern Confederacy, an alliance of several Native American tribes. Leading up to the war, Wayne oversaw a major change and reorganization of the entire United States Army. Following the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, he later negotiated the Treaty of Greenville which ended the war and their alliance with the British.
Wayne's legacy is controversial and debated in the 21st century with his legacy contested, due to his tactics under George Washington's policies against Native Americans during the Northwest Indian War-
Anthony Wayne