Article published June 24, 2007
VETERANS' GLASS CITY SKYWAY
Toledo's new Glass City Skyway hailed as 'civic cathedral' in sky
Dedication precedes opening of Toledo's bridge to future
The Pledge of Allegiance, the unfurling of the American flag, and a prayer open ceremonies for the crowd on the bridge.
(
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE/MARTIN MATY
)
|
By DAVID PATCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Like a “civic cathedral in the sky” the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway was dedicated yesterday by the words of politicians, the lament of bagpipes, and five white doves released to fly free by the families of workers who died building the bridge that now soars across the Maumee River.
Speaker after speaker tried to describe the massive concrete and steel structure, variously as “a testament to human ingenuity,” “a modern engineering marvel,” and as “Toledo’s new crown jewel,” but one theme recurred more than the rest: a bridge to Toledo’s future.
“This great bridge belongs to all of northwest Ohio, and it will carry northwest Ohio into a future of new opportunity,” James Beasley, director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, said early during the 90-minute event that included remarks from more than a dozen speakers.
The $237 million Skyway “links the greatness of our past with the promise of our future,” Tina Skeldon-Wozniak, president of the Lucas County commissioners, echoed later.
Thousands of people turned out either for the dedication, a foot-race and walk and veterans’ parade afterward, or just to wander around on the span 130 feet above the Maumee River during what was billed as the public’s sole opportunity to do so before the bridge opens to I-280 traffic sometime today.
Some arrived at the main parking lot for shuttle buses to the bridge, which covers 1.6 miles including approaches, as early as 7:15 a.m., 45 minutes before the buses began running.
Weather was ideal, with light winds and high clouds muting the sun to keep temperatures down on the Skyway’s concrete deck.
In his remarks, Gov. Ted Strickland, in office only since January, acknowledged the prior administrations, local leaders, and citizens who guided the project’s development and construction, and committed to equal distribution of state government resources throughout Ohio in the future.
“We will move forward and create opportunity for all of Ohio’s citizens. There is no more the ‘Other Ohio.’ This part of Ohio is central to what is Ohio,” the governor said to thunderous applause, alluding to past complaints that state largesse historically benefited Ohio’s “Three C’s”: Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.
Mr. Strickland said the bridge is “a testament to human ingenuity, human capacity, and human intelligence,” while U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) thanked the “countless” people who “worked so long and so hard, for 16 years, to build this awesome structure, the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway, a civic cathedral in the sky.”
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R., Ohio) thanked not only the numerous public officials in attendance who helped secure funding for the bridge but also The Blade for noting recently the late Paul Mifsud’s role in making the bridge a reality.
Mr. Mifsud was not only a former chief of staff to then-Gov. Voinovich but was later a consultant to Toledo to help move the bridge project forward.
Oregon Mayor Marge Brown, right, and Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon-Wozniak next to her, slice sections of a ribbon at the dedication of the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway.
(
THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
)
|
And it was Mr. Mifsud who advised The Blade, during a tight governor’s race in 1998, to editorialize for construction of a bridge to span the Maumee. Within days, Democratic candidate Lee Fisher said he would build the bridge if elected governor.
Republican Bob Taft’s commitment followed almost immediately.
“People who make the difference are sometimes the people who work with the elected officials,” Senator Voinovich told the thousands gathered on the bridge yesterday.
Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner yesterday noted the support of The Blade and John Robinson Block, co-publisher and editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and credited both The Blade and Mr. Mifsud with securing state-level commitments to the project, then forecast to cost $200 million.
The Blade, Mr. Finkbeiner said, “was out front on this before practically anybody I know of” and pushed with characteristic vigor.
Al Crawford, right, is among the fl ag-holders participating in the dedication of the new bridge across the Maumee River.
(
THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
)
|
Mr. Finkbeiner said that Mr. Mifsud also orchestrated a promise from Mr. Fisher to build the bridge without toll funding — a promise his rival and eventual gubernatorial victor, Mr. Taft, had to match. Mr. Fisher now is lieutenant governor under Mr. Strickland.
Remembering the fallen
But the names of five men — Arden Clark II, Robert Lipinski, Michael Moreau, and Michael Phillips, all ironworkers, and Andrew Burris, a carpenter — who were not present were read out.
Their names hung in the air in silence as Miss Kaptur presented Joe Blaze, business manager for Ironworkers Local 55, with a floral wreath whose five white chrysanthemums represented the five union workers who died in two separate accidents during the project’s construction.
Like Mr. Blaze before her and Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop after her, Miss Kaptur spoke out their names.
The four ironworkers died when a crane collapsed on Feb. 16, 2004, halting construction of the bridge’s main spans for eight months. Mr. Burris died April 19 when a platform he occupied while applying forms to concrete work on the bridge detached from the structure and plunged 82 feet to the ground.
“This bridge is dedicated to the construction workers who risked their lives every day,” often under difficult weather conditions and sometimes at perilous heights, “to build this bridge for your convenience,” Mr. Blaze said. “We will never forget the ultimate price that was paid by four brother ironworkers and one brother carpenter.”
Flanking Mr. Blaze were several dozen relatives of the dead, five of whom held white boxes from which the doves were released as bagpipers played “Amazing Grace.”
“It’s really hard for me, but it’s a dream come true” to see the bridge finished, Paul Moreau, himself an ironworker and the father of Michael Moreau, said afterward. “I’m sorry we lost some of the best ironworkers we had, and one of them was my son. I wish they could all be with us today, and I thank all the union workers who did a tremendous job on the bridge.”
“It was like going to the funeral all over again,” Duane Burris, Andrew Burris’ father, said of the dedication — “but I am very proud” that the bridge is complete. The ceremony, he said, “was put on well.”Tribute to veterans
Other speakers gave tribute to military veterans, whose duty to country was celebrated by both a military color guard during the dedication and a motorized parade of veterans’ groups afterward. The National Flag Truck, carrying a historic collection of American flags, was present during the events.
“It’s a veterans’ bridge,” said Senator Voinovich. “I hope people, as they travel across this bridge, they remember the sacrifices they [veterans] made.”
Mr. Voinovich also used the occasion to remark on the need for further transportation improvements in the region, including completion of the U.S. 24 Fort to Port Highway between Toledo and Fort Wayne, Ind., and widening of U.S. 20 and State Rt. 2. Money that had been set aside for those and other projects, he said, has “evaporated” because of rising oil and steel prices, and public leaders need to work out ways to compensate.
“We have to get on with it as soon as possible to get that next highway bill passed,” Mr. Voinovich said. “Our infrastructure has been neglected, and we just can’t put it off and let our kids pay for it.”When will it open?
The Skyway’s opening time today remained unannounced yesterday, with state officials saying it would depend on how long stripe painting, barrier relocation, and other work to connect it with existing I-280 took to complete. Parts of I-280 through Toledo have been closed this weekend while that work is done.
The Craig Memorial Bridge, which for 50 years carried I-280 across the Maumee and was one of the last drawbridges on the Interstate Highway System, closed yesterday for traffic-pattern changes and reopened later in the day as a local link between Summit and Front streets. Motorists who formerly exited or entered I-280 at Summit will need to continue using the Craig to get to or from I-280 at Front because the Skyway has no interchange at Summit.
The new I-280 river crossing will eliminate traffic delays from hundreds of annual ship passages on the Maumee and accidents associated with the Craig’s antiquated design. Robert Greenlese, the retired director of surface transportation and logistics for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, said eliminating the highway-river traffic would aid maritime business too.
“This is truly an asset to the Port of Toledo,” Mr. Greenlese said. “But more importantly, it’s an asset to you all, the citizens of Toledo. It is your bridge. Enjoy it!”Taking a look
Roseanne Babiuch of Toledo was among the many who turned out yesterday simply to take in the view from the Skyway, which will not be open to pedestrians or cyclists. She and her family came out early to beat the crowds and take their tour in the morning cool; by 9 a.m., they were in line for a shuttle bus back to the parking lot.
“It’s neat. We’ve been watching it for years, and I’ve been driving back and forth underneath it [on the Craig] for years,” she said. “It’s finally fun to be on top.”
Crowds at the dedication were generally well-behaved, with a state trooper reporting only some minor incidents involving people throwing trash or dangling children over the bridge’s side. While several medical crews stood by during the event, no significant heat-related problems were reported.
‘Highway to the sky’
Honored guests at the dedication included not just public officials and other dignitaries,but also volunteers like Harley Weide of Sylvania, who was among many who submitted “Glass City Skyway” to a bridge-naming contest but one of only a few who wrote an accompanying essay to explain his idea.
“This was more than a bridge,” he said. “This was a highway to the sky. The ‘Glass City’ part — that’s pretty self-explanatory.”
“Glass City Skyway” and “Veterans’ Memorial Bridge” were the two most popular entries in the bridge-naming contest, conducted in 2001 by what was then known as the Maumee River Crossing Task Force, a volunteer group of local leaders and interested residents that also coordinated a series of public meetings during which the bridge’s basic design and artistic elements, among other things, were chosen.
The two names were combined into one by the Ohio legislature, which passed naming legislation in December, 2004.
Lois Lorann of Toledo who was among those who entered “Veterans’ Memorial Bridge,” said she was fine with the compromise and described the bridge as “unbelievable — absolutely amazing.”
“It’s nice to have an idea and see it happen,” said Rory Schanley-Brown, a former head of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, a former task force member and active volunteer during the bridge-design process. “This is a people’s project. It is a tribute to volunteerism and to the citizens of Toledo.”
A lengthy process
Planning for the bridge had begun during the mid-1980s, when the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments identified an upgrade to I-280’s Maumee River crossing as the region’s top priority for improving its transportation network.
“Everybody thought we were nuts,” William Knight, the metropolitan council’s executive director at the time, recalled yesterday, citing the project’s cost and complexity as reasons skeptics doubted it would ever be built.
“There was something interesting about this project,” agreed Mike Ligibel, the planning administrator at ODOT’s Bowling Green office. “Even though this was a huge project, it seemed to have extra momentum from the start. It did not get hung up on obstacles the way other projects did,” he said, citing U.S. 24, the Buckeye Basin Greenbelt Parkway, and State Rt. 2 as examples.
Using federal planning funds Miss Kaptur and then-U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D., Ohio) secured in 1991, the metropolitan council and its task force studied alternatives for a Craig replacement, eventually eliminating the tunnel option and favoring an alignment parallel to existing I-280 that would cut construction costs and minimize land takings.
But with those choices made, the planners suspended their efforts for several years until 1999, when ODOT’s Transportation Review Advisory Council approved a $1.7 billion transportation plan that included funds for the I-280 project.
“This is a monument to what we can do together, as a region, when we all strive together toward a common dream,” said Steve Herwat, the metropolitan council’s acting vice president for transportation.
A glimpse into the future
The bridge pylon’s internal lighting system is a towering example of “highly efficient LED technology,” Miss Kaptur said before calling on public leaders to make the system a further showcase of “green energy” by developing a solar-cell array nearby to power it.
During a breakfast he hosted under a tent on the nearby Marina District site for state and local officials before the dedication, Mayor Finkbeiner said the day’s events provided a glimpse into Toledo’s future.
“It’s a fantastically inspiring vision of what our city is going to be and our county is going to be in the future,” he said. “Our past has celebrated triumphs. Our future will be different than our past.”
Blade staff writer Joe Vardon contributed to this report.
Contact David Patch at:dpatch@theblade.comor 419-724-6094.
Permanent Link
|
|
 |
|
See the 
See 
See what 
Search
advertisement
