Veteran's Glass City Skyway Bridge Makes Its Debut
June 19, 2007 • Six years ago in May, Toledo, Ohio's state and local leaders cheered on the construction start of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway, a new landmark above the Maumee River that would alleviate river-related traffic delays on I-280. This week,
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The Veterans' Glass City Skyway features many firsts for cable-stayed bridges. Photo from ODOT.
Built by Fru-Con Construction Corp. of Ballwin, Mo., under a $220 million state contract, the cable-stayed bridge features the world's thickest stay cables, the first use of stainless steel sheathing on those cables, and the first pylon with internally lit, inlaid glass panels. Including approach viaducts, the reinforced concrete structure stretches about 8,800 feet.
At the height of the project, more than 400 workers were on-site putting the precast pieces together, building the main pylons, installing lights and wiring, and more. But five workers on the project were killed during construction • four ironworkers on the same day in February 2004 when one of two gantry truss cranes crashed 60 feet to the ground. A fifth fatality occurred two months ago when a work platform attached to the bridge's side detached and fell 82 feet to the ground, killing the 36-year-old carpenter who was on the platform.
Prior to the crane accident, Fru-Con and ODOT announced an agreement to complete construction by Labor Day 2005 • more than a year before its original deadline of Oct. 26, 2006. However, the 2004 accident halted assembly of the mainline spans for eight months. As the eighth month approached, a positioning leg fell from the other gantry truss crane as it was being maneuvered into place to resume building the mainline. No one was injured in the second crane accident, but mainline construction was suspended another eight months until the contractor revised its construction plan again and acquired additional equipment. According to the Toledo Blade, fines associated with the new bridge's late opening passed the $2 million mark last week, which included Fru-Con's OSHA fines for crane accident plus settlements for the deaths of the ironworkers and penalties for late completion.
A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, and the Veteran's Glass City Skyway will open to I-280 traffic on Sunday. But the bridge's opening will not be the end of construction in the area. Initially, just two of its three lanes will be available in either direction, with the rest opening later this year. A city park is also planned for completion in 2010, which will include a workers' monument that will be a memorial to those who died and a tribute to the hundreds of others who took part in building
For the complete article, read the Toledo Blade's special section on the
