A recent dedication marked the opening of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway, a Toledo, Ohio, structure combining segmental precast and high performance cast-in-place concrete. Part of a $310 million initiative to widen I-280 from Navarro Ave. to the I-75 interchange, the Maumee River crossing project began in January 2002 with the awarding of a $220 million contract to prime contractor Fru-Con Construction Corp. of Baldwin, Mo.

The bridge's most distinctive aesthetic element — a 404-ft.-tall pylon featuring an ever-changing array of colored lights enclosed in glass — is also the supporting structure for a cable cradle system introduced by Figg Bridge Engineers for the project. Cast from high-strength 10,000-psi concrete, the pylon provides a lean profile while sustaining 20 stainless steel tube cradles through which 18- and 20-in.-diameter cable stays (comprising bundles of 82 to 156 epoxy-coated 0.6-in.-diameter steel strand) were installed to support 612.5-ft. main spans.

In addition to the pylon resting on a 104-ft.-diameter footing over seventeen 8-ft.-diameter drill shafts, the Ohio Department of Transportation project — labelled at its inception the Maumee River Crossing — required segmental precast girders for ramps, approaches and main span, totalling 1.2 million sq. ft. of deck area; precast delta frames anchoring main cable stays below the roadway; and, 187 octagonal piers, all bearing on 7- or 8-ft.-diameter drilled monoshaft foundations. Finishing touches by subcontractor Oglesby Construction, Inc., in preparation for the bridge opening included completion of the approach pavement, plus curbing, and slipforming about 41,200 ft. of barrier wall along both sides of the two parallel bridge decks and ramps. Sylvania-based All Ohio Ready Mix was the main material supplier for the cast-in-place structures and Fru-Con's segment casting operation near the site.