The I-280 Veterans’ Glass City Skyway: Toledo, Ohio’s Landmark Signature Bridge

The new Interstate 280 bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. opened to traffic on June 24, 2007. This major cable-stayed bridge, named the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway, is part of the largest project ever undertaken by the Ohio Department of Transportation. It showcases many first-of-a-kind structural and aesthetic features that make it a true landmark structure not only for Toledo, but for the United States. The centerpiece of the new crossing is a 464.8 m long cable-stayed main span unit featuring a 132.8 m tall single pylon. All four sides of the uppermost 60.7 m of the pylon are faced in glass panels to honor Toledo’s long history in the glass-making industry. During the day, the glass reflects the appearance of the sky. At night, 384 LED light fixtures behind the glass make the pylon shine with more than 16 million possible colors in striking displays celebrating holidays, seasons, and local events. The glass and LED lighting system are unique to any cable-stayed bridge in the world. The aesthetic features in the main pylon are made possible by the development of the new cable-stayed cradle system. The cradles allow the stay cable strands to pass through the pylon in parallel individual stainless steel tube, eliminating the need for stay anchorages embedded into the pylon. Rather than high tensile forces caused by anchorages, the stay forces are transferred to the pylon concrete through radial compressive stresses, taking advantage of the natural strength of the concrete and allowing for a more structurally efficient pylon cross-section. This reduced cross-sectional area of the pylon allows greater flexibility for designers to include aesthetic features in the pylon itself.

• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Concrete Bridge Council

  Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old Orchard Road
  Skokie, IL  United States  60077-1083

  Missouri Department of Transportation

  105 West Capitol Avenue
  Jefferson City, MO  United States  65102

  American Concrete Institute (ACI)

  38800 Country Club Drive
  Farmington Hills, MI  United States  48331
• Authors:
  • Bonzon, Wade S
• Conference:
  • 2008 Concrete Bridge Conference
  • Location: St. Louis MO, United States
  • Date: 2008-5-4 to 2008-5-7
• Publication Date: 2008

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: 219
• Monograph Title: HPC: Safe, Affordable, and Efficient

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Cable stayed bridges; Cantilever bridges; Light emitting diodes; Lighting systems; Long span bridges; Posttensioning; Precast concrete; Segmental construction; Stainless steel
• Geographic Terms: Toledo (Ohio)
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01105175
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jul 25 2008 7:49AM