Veterans' Glass City Skyway
| Veterans' Glass City Skyway | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 41°39′35″N 83°30′47″W / 41.65972°N 83.51306°W |
| Carries | 6 lanes of  I-280
|
| Crosses | Maumee River |
| Locale | Toledo, Ohio |
| Official name | Veterans' Glass City Skyway |
| Maintained by | Ohio Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | cable-stayed bridge |
| Total length | 8,800 feet (2,682 m) |
| Height | 400 feet (122 m) |
| Longest span | 612 feet (187 m) (2x) |
| Clearance above | 130 feet (40 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | June 24, 2007 |
The Veterans' Glass City Skyway, commonly referred to as the Toledo Skyway Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge on Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio. After many delays, it opened in 2007. The bridge has supplanted traffic and removed associated delays from the nearby bascule bridge known as the Robert Craig Memorial Bridge, which until its transfer to local control was one of the last remaining moveable bridges on the Interstate highway system. It was Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) biggest single construction project in history.
The ODOT and the city of Toledo began planning the bridge in April 1999, and construction began in 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-stayed 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 opened to traffic 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 by ODOT, costing approximately US$237 million.
The main attraction of the bridge is the single pylon which contains 384 light emitting diode (LED) fixtures 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 "glass" theme for the bridge design, choosing to honor the region's heritage in the glass manufacturing industry. The bridge was designed by Figg Bridge Engineers, Inc. for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
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