OPAC Consulting Engineers

Maumee River Bridge


Toledo, Ohio

Client:

National Constructor Groups
P.O. Box 2890
Napa, CA 94558-0537
Paul Silvestri
Tel. 707-257-8994

Date:

Peer review completed 2000
Construction completed 2007

Scope of work:

Value Engineering

Construction cost:

US$ 237 Million

Services Performed:

  • Peer review
  • Value engineering

Issues:

  • Unusual bridge structure
  • Complex construction staging

The Veterans' Glass City Skyway, formerly known as the Maumee River Crossing, is a cable-stayed bridge on Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio. The bridge carries three lanes of traffic in each direction. The road surface reaches a height of 40 m above the surface of the Maumee River. The project consisted of building a 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 200 m on each side of the pylon. The main span approaches are approximately 1,220 m north of and 1,020 m south of the Maumee River. The main attraction of the bridge is the single pylon which contains 384 light emitting diodes (LEDs) that are capable of creating 16.7 million potential color combinations. The LEDs shine through all the glass facing on all four sides of the upper 196' feet of the main pylon. These lights are visible from up to 3 miles away. The bridge was designed by Figg Bridge Engineers, Inc. for the Ohio Department of Transportation.

OPAC, with the National Constructor Groups, was engaged by the Ohio Department of Transportation to perform value engineering and peer review of the design.