January 19, 200619 yr ^Yes the ramps won't be redone, but the trench is proposed to be covered right? No, not the entire trench. Piles were driven halfway between the Main & Walnut St. overpasses and halfway between the Plum & Elm bridges. This leaves a 150ft gap between the end of the tunnel roof and these two overpasses. Got ya. That doesn't sound too bad. I personally like those bridges, even though your art deco ideas sounds much cooler. Do you know how it will be covered? Similar to any common bridge concrete deck? Will posts or some kind of support wall have to be built in the median?
January 20, 200619 yr And add to my list of lame cable-stayed bridges this one in Mobile, Alabama: But it can handle hurricanes
January 27, 200619 yr MAP: I-75/I-471 ramp changes ODOT proposal to close Berdan ramps draws fire Objections to a state proposal to close the Berdan Avenue ramps on I-75 as part of an upcoming modernization of the nearby I-75/I-475 junction dominated discussion at an Ohio Department of Transportation public meeting last night in West Toledo. Exactly what proportion of the more than 300 people who packed the meeting room at the Toledo Technology Academy - formerly DeVilbiss High School - oppose the ramps' closing was unclear because many left after the ODOT presentation, which was not followed by a public hearing period. Instead, those with questions or comments were directed to buttonhole state officials or submit comments in writing. More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/NEWS11/601260348/-1/rss
February 2, 200619 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060202/NEWS11/602020310/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published February 2, 2006 City to study plan to close I-75 ramps Comment date extended By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER City officials plan to study traffic in the Five Points neighborhood and adjoining parts of West Toledo to predict what could happen if certain I-75 ramps are closed as part of changes to the I-75/I-475 freeway junction. "We are looking at the impacts on Upton Avenue and the side streets in that area, and also in the vicinity of Willys Parkway," said Mike White, Toledo's commissioner of engineering services and transportation. An Ohio Department of Transportation official, meanwhile, said the department's deadline for public comments about the project has been extended by one week. Any comments mailed to ODOT should be postmarked by Feb. 15, said Mike Ligibel, the department's planning administrator at the Bowling Green district office. More at link above:
February 3, 200619 yr From the 2/3/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO: Scaffold towers support a bridge segment that is located atop the pier near the Erie Steet overpass in North Toledo. ( THE BLADE/LORI KING ) GRAPHIC: Tower power VETERANS' GLASS CITY SKYWAY 4th work front planned on North Toledo bridge Temporary towers will hold spans in assembly By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER With an eye toward increasing the productivity of an ongoing I-280 closing in North Toledo, Fru-Con Construction plans to start a fourth work front on the Veterans' Glass City Skyway next month using temporary towers to support new spans during assembly. Each of the 14 or so precast segments used to assemble a span will be hoisted atop a pair of modular steel towers, adjusted for proper alignment, and then fastened together with epoxy and steel cables. Fru-Con, the Ballwin, Mo.-based contractor for the $220 million bridge, expects to build at least seven bridge spans in North Toledo using that method, said Mike Gramza, the project manager for the Ohio Department of Transportation. "It's a plan to continue to try to bring the schedule in" for the project, Mr. Gramza said. After a Feb. 16, 2004, crane collapse that killed four workers and injured four others, major construction was suspended for 16 months, scuttling an accelerated Labor Day, 2005, goal and putting the original completion deadline of October, 2006 into doubt. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060203/NEWS11/602030330/-1/RSS
February 8, 200619 yr 70-ton segment of I-280 bridge falls during test at North Toledo site Skyway project delayed again after concrete drops 18 inches Article published February 8, 2006 By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER A 70-ton precast concrete bridge segment fell 18 inches to the ground yesterday after a mechanical failure at the I-280 construction site in North Toledo, injuring no one but disrupting the project for the second time in two weeks. Ohio Department of Transportation officials said a 6-inch-diameter shaft in a hoisting assembly called a manipulator broke as the segment was lifted slowly off the ground during a test about 2:30 p.m. The dropped segment for the Veterans' Glass City Skyway sustained some "hairline cracks" from the impact of the 18-inch fall, but "it looks like it's repairable at this point," said Jeff Baker, the construction manager for ODOT. Workers had just installed a different manipulator on the gantry crane being used to assemble bridge spans in North Toledo because construction had proceeded to a stage in which unbalanced precast segments are involved, said Mike Gramza, ODOT's project manager. The shaft that broke was a new piece of equipment and will be sent to Lehigh University in Easton, Pa., for metallurgical analysis, Mr. Gramza said. The accident occurred just north of Ontario Street. Fru-Con Construction, the Ballwin, Mo.-based general contractor for the $220 million project, is conducting an investigation and will make a report today to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, ODOT officials said. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060208/NEWS11/602080462/-1/NEWS
March 6, 200619 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/NEWS11/603060312/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published March 6, 2006 I-475, U.S. 23 bridge work at center of ODOT's orange-barrel projects 17,000 drivers a day may use Central Ave. detour route By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER In a matter of weeks, the junction of I-475 and U.S. 23 in Sylvania Township is going to become a place many motorists will want to avoid. Full story at link above:
March 13, 200619 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060313/NEWS11/603130324/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published March 13, 2006 Consultant plots interstate strategy By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER While tens of thousands of motorists slog their ways through a construction zone on I-475 and U.S. 23 in Sylvania Township this spring and summer, a state consultant will be drafting ideas for long-term ways to address the growing traffic on Toledo's busy western beltway. The most obvious need, and easiest to build, is a third lane in both directions between the I-475/U.S. 23 junction in Sylvania Township and Airport Highway (State Rt. 2) in Springfield Township, a section "that probably could have used another lane two years ago," said Mike Ligibel, the planning administrator at the Ohio Department of Transportation's district office in Bowling Green. More at:
March 25, 200619 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060325/NEWS11/603250389/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published March 25, 2006 Veterans Skyway work won't end till fall '07 Delays extend I-280 closing 3 months By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Thousands of motorists who use I-280 to get around and through Toledo got some bad news yesterday from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The section of the interstate between Summit Street and the Greenbelt Parkway will remain closed at least three months beyond its promised mid-May opening. Even worse, completion of the entire $220 million Veterans Glass City Skyway project over the Maumee River is now delayed from the end of 2006 to fall 2007. Fru-Con Construction Corp., the Ballwin, Mo.-based, contractor for the project, advised ODOT officials that work on approach spans to the new skyway over the existing I-280 in North Toledo has gone slower than expected, Mike Gramza, ODOT's project manager, said yesterday. The affected section of I-280 between the Greenbelt Parkway and Summit was supposed to be closed seven months based on a timetable last spring.
April 8, 200619 yr From the 4/7/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO: The collapse of a truss crane on the construction site of the new I-280 bridge in 2004 killed four ironworkers and injured four other workers. Records made public show Fru-Con Construction Corp. has paid a total of $11.25 million to the families of three of the four ironworkers killed. The settlement for the fourth ironworker has not been disclosed. ( THE BLADE ) Fru-Con has paid $11.25M in crane-collapse deaths By MARK REITER BLADE STAFF WRITER Fru-Con Construction Corp. paid a total of $11.25 million in wrongful death claims, attorney fees, and other expenses to the families of three of four ironworkers killed in the 2004 collapse of a truss crane used to build the new I-280 bridge. The settlements by Fru-Con, the Ballwin, Mo.-based contractor for the $220 million Veterans' Glass City Skyway, were paid last year to the estates of Mike Phillips, 42; Arden Clark II, 47; and Robert Lipinski, Jr., 44, in Lucas County Probate Court. The agreements were sealed by Judge Jack Puffenberger, who made the records public yesterday in redacted form in response to a request by The Blade under the Ohio Public Records Act. The estate of the fourth victim, Michigan resident Mike Moreau, 30, was filed in Monroe County, where the probate record likewise was sealed last year after a settlement was reached. The settlements were among the costs that have been paid by Fru-Con in connection with the Feb. 16, 2004, collapse of the truss crane - the region's worst construction accident in decades - which resulted in the deaths of four ironworkers and injuries to four other workers. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060407/NEWS11/604070333/-1/RSS
April 15, 200619 yr > Do you know how it will be covered? Similar to any common bridge concrete deck? Will posts or some kind of support wall have to be built in the median? Yeah, there will be hundreds of pillars in the median, my guess is it will either be a solid wall or the gaps between pillars will be pretty slim. Quote from: jmecklenborg on January 14, 2006, 10:11:50 pm And add to my list of lame cable-stayed bridges this one in Mobile, Alabama: But it can handle hurricanes ^^^Yeah, and in fact that oil platform got destroyed by the bridge, not vice-verse. The platform is still in Mobile Harbor, a heap of junk, just sitting there. A lot of the other bridges in the area sustained some damage, the bayway was roughed up and the eastbound I-10 bridge in Pensacola was halfway destroyed, a replacement is well underway. I believe the I-10 in Biloxi was completely destroyed, I don't know how work on that is going.
April 15, 200619 yr I believe the I-10 in Biloxi was completely destroyed, I don't know how work on that is going. You're thinking of US 90 and/or I-110 as being worked on in Biloxi. I drove I-10 from Slidell to I-65 (almost Mobile) back in December without any interuptions.
April 15, 200619 yr I have not been to Biloxi, all through that region I-10 and US 90 parallel one another. There's a lot of damage around Pensacola, the Naval base got hit hard and several of the old low bridges which were left standing as fishing piers were destroyed. It looks like there was a first generation of bay bridges in that region that are all only 10 feet above the water, then a second generation of interstate highway era bridges that replaced them when the Intercoastal Waterway was built. All these newer bridges have a rise in the middle to allow navigation. But they left the old bridges intact in many cases, with their center section removed, to act as fishing piers. But Katrina, Ivan, and Dennis knocked out a lot of these old bridges, as well as the low sections of the 2nd generation bridges. The replacements for the 2nd generation bridges look like they're going to be higher overall because the surges recently have been high enough to knock the decks off the piers.
May 11, 200619 yr From the 5/10/06 Toledo Blade: Public to see concepts for I-280 span memorial Three artists commissioned to develop concepts for a memorial to honor four ironworkers killed on the I-280 Veterans' Glass City Skyway project and all others who have worked there will present their ideas for the first time at a public meeting tomorrow in Toledo. Mike Ligibel, planning administrator at the Ohio Department of Transportation's district office in Bowling Green and a member of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway Task Force, said state officials and task force leaders will be seeing the proposals for the first time along with the public. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060510/NEWS11/605100396/-1/NEWS
May 12, 200619 yr More details from the 5/12/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO: Sculptor Cork Marcheschi proposed the tribute to the workers who were involved in the creation of the soaring Veterans’ Glass City Skyway project. ( THE BLADE/HERRAL LONG ) PHOTO: Evan Lewis of Chicago shows his proposed sculpture: four pillars shaped to mimic the piers of the I-280 span, topped by stainless steel elements that would respond to the wind. ( THE BLADE/HERRAL LONG ) PHOTO: John Young designed the sculpture to honor four ironworkers killed during the project. SKYWAY MEMORIAL Bridge monument finalists narrowed to 3 Sculptures honor the 4 who died By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Three artists' proposals for a tribute monument near the Veterans' Glass City Skyway project all include elements recognizing the four men who died there in a crane accident nearly 27 months ago, and each attempts to harmonize with the soaring structure that will soon carry I-280 traffic over the Maumee River. The challenge will be picking a winner. About 100 people attended a meeting last night that introduced the artists and their proposals to Toledoans. "I'm impressed by all of the presentations here, by all three of them," said Howard Pinkley, a Point Place resident, capturing the sentiment of many who spoke. "I would be pleased to honor these gentlemen [the artists] by putting all three of these up somewhere around the bridge." FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060512/NEWS16/605120365/-1/RSS
May 22, 200619 yr From the 5/20/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO: Evan Lewis shows a model of his sculpture, which was selected to honor workers building the Maumee River 1-280 bridge, especially the four who lost their lives on the project. ( THE BLADE/HERRAL LONG ) VETERANS' GLASS CITY SKYWAY Sculpture chosen to honor workers on bridge project By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER A stainless-steel sculpture with two wind-blown, rotating arms and other "kinetic elements" and mounted on four concrete pillars is the Veterans' Glass City Skyway Task Force choice for a monument honoring workers at the bridge project, especially four who died in a crane accident 27 months ago. After agreeing that all three proposals exhibited at a public meeting last week were worthy candidates, the task force's Tribute Committee decided that the sculpture designed by Chicago artist Evan Lewis was most suitable for several reasons, including the potential for friends and relatives of those who died to participate in its fabrication, committee spokesman John Crandall told the full task force yesterday. "The more the committee talked about it," Mr. Crandall said, the more it leaned toward the sculpture, which as proposed by Mr. Lewis would be 28 feet tall to its arms' pivot point and a maximum of 40 feet tall. The task force also accepted the committee's - and Mr. Lewis' - recommendation that the monument be built on the northern edge of Ravine Park II, along Front Street, where it would be visible to motorists on Front as well as from the $220 million Maumee River bridge overhead. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060520/NEWS11/605200330/-1/NEWS
June 14, 200619 yr From the 6/13/06 Toledo Blade: I-280 ramp is expected to alleviate congestion But Summit Street closings to continue By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Congestion on the inbound Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge should ease today with the opening of a temporary ramp from the northbound Craig Memorial Bridge to southbound Summit Street. But the lane closings and detours that began this past weekend mark a point in the Veterans' Glass City Skyway construction at which a series of Summit closings will be required while cranes work overhead to assemble the $220 million bridge. Project contractor Fru-Con also has installed the first segment on the North Toledo side of the main pylon, although Mike Gramza, the Ohio Department of Transportation's project manager, said it will be "several weeks" before enough segments are added there to require stringing the first of the bridge's stay cables. The Craig bridge's northbound lanes were scheduled to reopen by 6 a.m. today, but I-280 will remain closed in both directions between Summit and the Greenbelt Parkway until at least late August, and possibly longer. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/NEWS11/606130359/-1/NEWS
July 1, 200618 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060701/NEWS11/607010336/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published July 1, 2006 ODOT budget woes delay highway plans By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER The second phase of rebuilding the I-475/I-75 interchange in Toledo and construction of the western section of U.S. 24 in Paulding County have been pushed back several years by the Ohio Department of Transportation's tightening budget. The six-year Major-New Construction Program that a state committee approved yesterday includes most of the projects that were on a draft list adopted in January. But several proposed projects were postponed or demoted to provisional status as ODOT grapples with skyrocketing prices for fuel and construction materials. More at link above:
August 9, 200618 yr Is anyone familiar with a freeway/expressway in Toledo, that was planned sometime in the 50s or 60s, then cancelled? I saw this drawn out as a proposed highway on a 1969 city map. This highway was to start from the current terminus of the Anthony Wayne Trail at I-75, then head to downtown Toledo, then run along the Maumee River waterfront, then continue on to either I-280, or perhaps end all the way up at I-75 again in the north end of town. Evidence for this unbuilt freeway still exists. First, there's a ramp stub on I-75 NB just north of the AW Trail exit. Second, there used to be a "ramp to nowhere" on I-75 SB, I think on the same off-ramp as the Indiana Ave. exit. The ramp just went up in the air and stopped, as if a motorcycle daredevil was using it as a launch. This "ghost ramp" was demolished within the last 20 years and the earth landscaped, but there still appears to be some evidence of grading. Third, if you look at the end of the AW Trail, notice that the NB lanes make a rather sharp curve to the right where it was originally planned to continue in alignment with the SB lanes, though I'm not sure if any grading was done. This also explains why the AW Trail/I-75 interchange is so overbuilt. If it were done today without plans for the future freeway, an SPUI (single-point urban interchange) or parclo (partial-cloverleaf) would probably suffice, though I'd include a flyover ramp to I-75 SB. (A similarly overbuilt interchange exists in Dayton at US-35 and Steve Whalen Blvd., which was for the cancelled Belmont expressway/freeway; reconstruction to a diamond interchange is planned.) I'm not aware of any artifacts on the northern end of this never-built freeway, though someone suggested it was the reason for the odd configuration of the (soon to be closed?) interchange I-280 and Summit St. Does anyone know what this proposed freeway was to be called or numbered?
August 9, 200618 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/NEWS11/608090408/-1/NEWS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published August 9, 2006 ODOT sets November I-280 opening North Toledo stretch may remain closed until Thanksgiving By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER I-280 will remain closed in North Toledo until as late as Thanksgiving under a "work-forward" plan for finishing the Veterans' Glass City Skyway that the Ohio Department of Transportation unveiled at a public meeting last night in Oregon. "The best thing that ODOT can do is try to get out of the way as quickly as possible," Mike Gramza, the transportation department's project manager, told an audience of about 60 people in the Oregon Room at St. Charles Mercy Hospital. The alternative, project officials said before the meeting, would be to reopen the freeway shortly after Labor Day, but then close it again next spring while construction of the new bridge's North Toledo approach viaduct is completed. I-280 has been closed between Summit Street and Greenbelt Parkway since Oct. 16. The closing was initially scheduled for seven months, but construction of the North Toledo approach spans above the existing lanes proceeded much more slowly than originally expected, primarily because of winter weather and delays getting project equipment into service.
August 13, 200618 yr Not sure what it would have been called way back when, but I thought it's latest iteration was the "Buckeye Basin Greenbelt Parkway"
August 14, 200618 yr Couldn't agree with you more C-Dawg. I lived in the Toledo area, well actually Bowling Green, for 3 1/2 years (94-97). I liked the fact that the freeway wasn't too close to downtown. I'm glad to see the downtown area improving (was last there about 18 months ago, I think).
August 19, 200618 yr From the 8/18/06 Toledo Blade: 8-BRIDGE PROJECT Detour-weary drivers should get relief soon Bonus plan adjusted to help speed work By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Thanks to the construction at the I-475/U.S. 23 interchange, Roberto Almodovar estimates the commute between his East Toledo home and his salesman's job at Monnette's Market on Alexis Road is up to a half-hour longer each day. "I have to get off on Talmadge [Road] and take the routes with [traffic] lights," Mr. Almodovar said to describe his means for avoiding the single lane traffic around the work at the interchange in Sylvania Township. Surface-street traffic and stoplights add about 15 minutes each way, he figures. More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060818/NEWS11/608180454/-1/RSS
September 12, 200618 yr From the 9/9/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO: Ted Rousos of the Ohio Department of Transportation takes measurements of the elevation of the deck on the new bridge. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) PHOTO: The Veterans’ Glass City Skyway bridge under construction is viewed from the observation area on Front Street. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) PHOTO: Survey technician Andrew Brown holds a level rod as a coworker takes measurements of the elevation of the deck. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) VETERANS' GLASS CITY SKYWAY Fractions matter as Toledo span rises Measurements are done daily to make sure parts match up By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER If it looked as if the new I-280 bridge span slowly stretching across the Maumee River channel was hanging a little low on Wednesday, that's because it was. By about three inches. Ensuring that the Veterans' Glass City Skyway's main span accurately matches up with the approach spans on land in North Toledo requires almost-daily measurements. Tolerances are limited to a small fraction of an inch on the main span, now being built as a cantilever north from its central pylon and about 30 percent complete. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060909/NEWS11/609090369/-1/RSS
December 2, 200618 yr From the 11/13/06 Toledo Blade: Skyway contractor gets a break State gives Fru-Con 60 more days to finish job without daily fine By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER When the Ohio Department of Transportation negotiated a new schedule for finishing the Veterans' Glass City Skyway with the project's contractor last summer, the deal included pushing back by 60 days a deadline after which the contractor would pay a $20,000 per day late-completion penalty, state officials disclosed late last week. Giving Fru-Con Construction Corp. until March 2 to open the $220 million structure over the Maumee River to at least two lanes of traffic in each direction was preferable to keeping I-280 closed past Nov. 22 so the contractor could try to meet the Dec. 31 opening deadline, said Mike Gramza, the transportation department's project manager. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061113/NEWS11/611130334/-1/NEWS
December 2, 200618 yr From the 11/15/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) SKYWAY APPROACH NEARS COMPLETION The last span for the North Toledo approach to the $220 million Veterans Glass City Skyway neared completion yesterday. Mike Gramza, the project manager for the Ohio Department of Transportation, watches as crane operators maneuver the span’s precast concrete segments into position near Ontario Street. Currently closed, Ontario is scheduled to reopen on Friday, while I-280 beneath the structure is scheduled to reopen to traffi c one week from today. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061115/NEWS11/61115018/-1/NEWS
December 2, 200618 yr From the 11/17/06 Toledo Blade: PHOTO: Mike Davey photographs construction activity on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway during his tour of the structure. Tours of the bridge are available to people 13 and older. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) PHOTO: Skyway visitors view construction of the unfi nished span across the shipping channel from inside the deck of the bridge. ( THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY ) CAPTURING A PIECE OF CONSTRUCTION HISTORY Skyway tours popular as completion looms By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Tim Stange and his employees at Safe-Way Barricades have become very familiar with I-280 near the Veterans' Glass City Skyway as they've set up, moved, or dismantled barricades, orange barrels, and concrete barrier walls during the four years that the new Maumee River bridge has been under construction. On Wednesday, he and several others got a much closer look at the $220 million project as they climbed down inside the bridge's concrete deck, watched workers prepare stainless steel stay-cable sheathing for installation, and looked out over the ever-narrowing gap in the structure's main span over the river's shipping channel. "We've had a lot of people spend a lot of hours out here working. It's good to get to see the rest of it," Mr. Stange, Safe-Way's co-owner, said as a 2 1/2-hour tour - which began with a meeting-room presentation on the bridge's construction - drew to a close. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061117/NEWS11/611170368/-1/NEWS
December 2, 200618 yr From the 11/23/06 Toledo Blade: Skyway gala to raise funds for memorial By JC REINDL BLADE STAFF WRITER Fading labor union banners and plastic flower wreaths stood guard yesterday morning over an old makeshift memorial site in East Toledo, overlooking a segment of the nearly completed Veterans' Glass City Skyway where four ironworkers died in 2004. Meanwhile, closer to the cable-stayed bridge's Maumee River crossing, project officials announced that the cost of building a permanent sculpture memorial to honor all workers involved in building the Skyway will be raised through a $100-a-person gala set for this spring. "This will be our tribute to the brothers and sisters who built this bridge," said Joe Blaze, co-chairman of the Tribute Committee for the Veterans' Glass City Skyway Task Force. Mr. Blaze also is the business manager for Ironworkers Local 55, the union representing Robert Lipinski, Jr., Arden Clark II, Mike Moreau, and Mike Phillips, who were killed Feb. 16, 2004, when a crane collapsed while being repositioned. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061123/NEWS17/611230446/-1/NEWS
December 20, 200618 yr From the 12/11/06 Blade: Summit ramp to join Manhattan in I-280 closure Alexis Road, Front Street could see more detoured traffic By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Some motorists bound for downtown Toledo could find themselves taking an unplanned excursion to Alexis Road during the early part of this week when consecutive exit ramps on northbound I-280 are closed. The Ohio Department of Transportation closed the Manhattan Boulevard exit from northbound I-280 on Wednesday for one week while a contractor installs panels for a noise wall along the ramp. But the Manhattan interchange has been the posted detour route when the northbound exit at Summit is closed for overhead cable work on the Veterans' Glass City Skyway. With installation of the $220 million bridge's penultimate stay cable likely to occur early this week, that will close Summit and Manhattan at the same time. The Greenbelt Parkway exit in between them, closed in 2003 for the new bridge's construction, won't reopen until the bridge opens. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061211/NEWS11/612110322/-1/NEWS
December 20, 200618 yr From the 12/19/06 Blade: Summit Street ramp from I-280 to be closed The Summit Street exit from northbound I-280 will close this morning for about two days while pre-cast segments are installed on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway overhead, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced. From 7 a.m. until tomorrow “in the late evening” at the soonest, the ramp will be closed and traffic detoured to the Manhattan Boulevard interchange, state officials said. The Summit ramp’s reopening will depend on weather conditions suitable for the construction work, ODOT said. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/NEWS11/61219009/-1/NEWS
December 20, 200618 yr the through portion of 280 is open again if anyone cares. The bridge, was very close to being completed span-wise.
January 6, 200718 yr From the 12/4/06 Blade: GRAPHIC: I-75/I-475 ramp changes (PDF) ODOT HEARING Highway ramp plan to undergo discussion Project would affect local traffic patterns By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER City councilman Frank Szollosi vowed in January to oppose any plan for rebuilding the I-75/I-475 interchange in central Toledo that includes eliminating ramps to or from local streets. He’s now hoping a new administration in Columbus is more receptive to that idea than the current one. An environmental assessment of the interchange project, prepared by an Ohio Department of Transportation consultant and adopted by the state in October, gives no consideration to maintaining both the full interchange at Willys Parkway and the half-interchange at Berdan Avenue on I-75, less than half a mile apart. More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061204/NEWS11/61204008/-1/NEWS
January 6, 200718 yr From the 12/7/06 Blade: READ ODOT's Environmental Assessment (PDF) ODOT told plans for ramp closings hurt West Toledo West Toledo neighborhoods near Sylvania, Berdan, and Upton avenues will be devastated if I-75 interchange ramps at Berdan are closed eight years from now as part of a state project to modernize the freeway's junction with I-475, residents said at an Ohio Department of Transportation hearing last night. "If they close down [the ramps at] Berdan Avenue, West Toledo will become an island," said Gus County, president of the Five Points Association, who predicted blight would settle in on the area. "Over a period of time, there's going to be a great cost to the businesses along Sylvania Avenue, and to the people who live in the neighborhood." ODOT officials offered no response to the audience of about 175 people that gathered in a classroom at the Toledo Technology Academy for the hour-long session, but said in interviews afterward that no new major issues had been introduced. More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061207/NEWS11/612070364/-1/NEWS
January 6, 200718 yr Great. ODOT has money to spend and they continue to allow left entrances and exits from a major interstate in an urbanised area? Tisk tisk...
January 8, 200718 yr Just found this thread and I am shocked, shocked that no one thinks this is a stupid idea. $220 million for a BRIDGE when that could have bought a comprehensive streetcar system that would have put the one we're planning to shame? So we're excited on URBANOHIO for a bridge over a city? Wow, I understand the appeal of a landmark and all, but I'm still shellshocked.
January 8, 200718 yr ^the bridge was necessary with expanding freighter traffic on the maumee. It was, methinks one of the only remaining interstates with a drawbridge. Oh, and if you think 220 million will buy a "comprehensive streetcar system" you need some help. Maybe like 5 miles of "comprehensive"
January 8, 200718 yr If we go with the approximate cost of 35 mil per mile for the Columbus streetcars you'd get 6 miles for 210 mil. Certainly comprehensive compared to a 2 mile line that only goes from German Village to the Short North, not to mention Toledo is smaller. And what about using that money to improve the freight rail system instead, wouldn't that be better?
January 9, 200718 yr If we go with the approximate cost of 35 mil per mile for the Columbus streetcars you'd get 6 miles for 210 mil. Certainly comprehensive compared to a 2 mile line that only goes from German Village to the Short North, not to mention Toledo is smaller. And what about using that money to improve the freight rail system instead, wouldn't that be better? How about taking out the money to replace the Main St & Town St bridges and use that towards light/freight/heavy/rail/streetcars instead?
January 9, 200718 yr If we go with the approximate cost of 35 mil per mile for the Columbus streetcars you'd get 6 miles for 210 mil. Certainly comprehensive compared to a 2 mile line that only goes from German Village to the Short North, not to mention Toledo is smaller. And what about using that money to improve the freight rail system instead, wouldn't that be better? or the cost of 670?
February 3, 200718 yr The story and pics from the opening that the pope mentioned, from the 12/21/06 Blade: PHOTO: James Savoy, right, walks across the bridge to shake a fellow worker’s hand after the final pieces were put in place. ( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT ) PHOTO: The sun rises behind the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway, which will carry I-280 across the Maumee River northeast of downtown. An official said about 60 days’ worth of work remain. How soon it can be completed depends on the weather. ( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT ) PHOTO: Iron workers use temporary steel rods and epoxy to secure the final segments in place. ( THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT ) I-280 BRIDGE Glass City Skyway reaches across river Final pair of segments are lowered into position By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Fifty-three months after a casting yard two miles away produced the first precast concrete segment for the Veterans' Glass City Skyway, the last two of 3,008 deck segments for the $220 million landmark were hoisted into place yesterday afternoon. Bundled against a cold breeze, hard-hatted construction workers clicked pocket cameras to mark the occasion 130 feet above the Maumee River. "I've waited four years to cross that thing," Dwight Sawyer, an operating engineer from Swanton, said after walking across the newly closed gap in what will become the southbound lanes. "It's a milestone. You work hours and hours and hours and, finally, you see something accomplished." The bridge will carry I-280 over the river. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/NEWS11/612210331/-1/NEWS
April 20, 200718 yr Worker dies in fall from new I-280 bridge BLADE STAFF Officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation said this afternoon that they are working with Toledo police, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Fru-Con Construction Corp., to investigate the death of a worker at the new I-280 bridge this morning. Andrew Burris, 36, a member of Carpenters Local 1138, of Curtice, died after a construction platform he was on, attached to the I-280 bridge project, fell on the northbound side of the new span. The entire platform, which had been clamped to the side of the bridge, broke free and fell. Mr. Burris fell onto the ground on the east side of the roadway. The distance of the fall was estimated to be about 90 feet. FULL ARTICLE: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/DEVELOPINGNEWS/70419066
May 15, 200718 yr Both from the 4/20/07 Blade: GRAPHIC: History of Veterans' Glass City Skyway project Project is a failed model of workplace safety Deaths, regulatory violations have dashed early ambitions of contractor, ODOT By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER On the frosty but clear afternoon of Presidents' Day, 2004, the ambitions of Fru-Con Construction and the Ohio Department of Transportation for the Veterans' Glass City Skyway project to be a paragon of workplace safety failed when a construction crane collapsed, killing four workers and injuring four others. The Feb. 16, 2004, accident near Front Street in East Toledo - for which the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Fru-Con $280,000 and for which the contractor later paid out at least $11.25 million to the dead workers' families - forever placed a symbolic stain on what was to have become a celebrated signature to the Toledo skyline. Yesterday morning, the fall of a construction platform that killed a construction worker was another traumatic event. It brought the I-280 project's overall death toll to five and rekindled memories of that horrific afternoon 38 months ago. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070420/NEWS11/704200346/-1/NEWS PHOTO: Andrew Burris, wife, Shonna, and daughter, Breanna, lived in Curtice. PHOTO: Andrew Burris holds his daughter, Breanna, high up on the bridge project. Mr. Burris was a Genoa High School graduate. PHOTO: Andrew Burris, a carpenter by training, loved working on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway project. Here he is at the job site. MORE NEW: I-280 bridge accident photo gallery OLD: I-280 bridge photo gallery View Ohio Department of Transportation web cams at I-280 bridge WANTED TO SEE SKYWAY COMPLETED Carpenter was proud to be part of the big I-280 bridge project in Toledo By CHRISTINA HALL BLADE STAFF WRITER Andrew Burris died working on the bridge he loved. The 36-year-old husband, father, and carpenter from several generations of carpenters kept a scrapbook of the new I-280 span. He had worked on its towering main pylon. Tragically, he fell 82 feet to his death yesterday - just two months before the scheduled completion of the state's largest construction project. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070420/NEWS01/704200347/-1/NEWS
May 15, 200718 yr From the 4/21/07 Blade: PHOTO: Bob and Pat Evans read messages on a makeshift memorial at the site where Andrew Burris fell to his death. ( THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON ) VETERANS' GLASS CITY SKYWAY PROJECT Co-workers leave messages of tribute for Toledo bridge victim Officials defend safety record of Skyway project By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Friends, co-workers, and fellow carpenters’ union members scribbled messages yesterday on a sign added to the makeshift memorial for a worker who died while working on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway project Thursday. “Build us all a stairway to heaven. God be with you and rest in peace,” Brett Morris, a project inspector for the Ohio Department of Transportation, wrote on the memorial sign erected yesterday morning next to a seven-foot wooden cross on the spot where Andrew Burris, 36, fell 82 feet to the ground at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday. The work platform on which Mr. Burris was working broke free from the bridge. “To a good man and a good carpenter: May peace be with you and your family,” added Ron Rothenbuhler, the executive regional director of the Ohio Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070421/NEWS01/70421001/-1/RSS
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