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Anthony Wayne Bridge

High Level Bridge

   

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Bridge Documented: July 4, 2006 and June 2, 2011

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth and Rick McOmber

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Key Facts

	Bridge Name	Facility Carried / Feature Intersected	Location	Structure Type	Construction Date and Builder/Engineer
	Anthony Wayne Bridge High Level Bridge	OH-2 and OH-5 Over Maumee River, Railroad, and Streets	Toledo: Lucas County, Ohio	Metal Through Plate Girder Stiffening Wire Cable Suspension, Fixed and Approach Spans: Metal Rivet-Connected Warren Deck Truss, Fixed	1931 By Builder/Contractor: McClintic-Marshall Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Engineer/Design: Waddell and Harrington

Technical Facts

Rehabilitation Date	Main Span Length	Structure Length	Roadway Width	Main Spans	Approach Spans	NBI Number
1961	785 Feet (239.3 Meters)	3215 Feet (979.9 Meters)	54 Feet (16.5 Meters)	3	25	4800303

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

This historic bridge's deck truss approach spans are slated for demolition and replacement!

The Anthony Wayne Bridge, commonly called simply the High Level Bridge, is Toledo's only historic high level bridge, and it is a defining landmark for the city. Toledo has other Maumee River crossings, some of which are historic, but they are low level crossings with movable spans to provide for navigation.

 This impressive bridge was constructed in 1931. The superstructure of this bridge was built by the McClintic-Marshall Company, which is the same company that built the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Waddell and Hardesty were consulting engineers for the Anthony Wayne Bridge.

The bridge features an attractive tower design. The towers feature various lattice patterns, and some of the structural steel on them is itself latticed. The top and bottom horizontal portions of the tower bracing above the roadway have a slight arch to them. The towers do not have the extremely tall feeling that some suspension bridges have, because of a medium span length coupled with a wide four-lane roadway on this bridge create the illusion of shorter towers. This is unlike the Fort Steuben Bridge, which is also a medium-length suspension span (actually within a foot of being the exact length of the Anthony Wayne Bridge!), but it has a narrow two-lane deck, so the towers look very tall.

The bridge contains a traditional three design of three suspended spans, one between towers, and one at end end next to the towers. The suspender cables for this bridge extend down from the main cable in pairs. Stiffening for the deck of the Anthony Wayne bridge is accomplished via a through plate girder design. The bridge features a Warren deck truss approach span that is located next to each of the end suspended spans. These approach truss spans feature riveted connections, and v-lacing/lattice. Original decorative sidewalk railings are present on the bridge. The pattern of the railing used on the bridge bears a striking resemblance to a standard railing design used in Michigan and Ontario.

This bridge appears to be maintained quite well, which is good to see. The bridge is currently painted a sky blue color. It would be nice to find a more tasteful way to keep people from throwing stuff off the bridge than the current cyclone fence solution. The fencing greatly detracts from the aesthetic value of the structure. The only good thing is that the center span doesn't have the fencing.

ODOT has chosen to rehabilitate the existing historic bridge, rather than demolish and replace Toledo's only monumental-sized historic bridge. The project is slated to begin in 2013. Rehabilitation was the right decision to make, and ODOT deserves to be thanked for making this decision. However, to leave the commentary at that alone without a critical evaluation of the actual scope and method of work in the proposed rehabilitation project for this bridge would be detrimental to other bridge owners who might be exploring what the "best practices" for historic bridge rehabilitation are. The proposed replacement project includes the replacement of significant portions of original bridge material. In particular, the proposed project involves the demolition and replacement the deck truss approach spans with a completely different non-truss structure type, such as pre-stressed concrete box beams. Located directly next to the suspension spans, the deck truss approach spans not only have a major impact on the appearance of the bridge, they are the most historically and technologically significant spans on the bridge aside from the suspended spans. Removal of the deck truss spans will have a dramatic negative effect on the historic integrity of the bridge, reducing the bridge's historic integrity from excellent to perhaps merely fair.

Perhaps the only way it was feasible to continue to have the historic Anthony Wayne Bridge remain a part of Toledo's skyline was to have a rehabilitation with these aggressive alterations. If that truly is the case, than ODOT is right to execute the rehabilitation as proposed. However, a detailed photo-documentation of the bridge conducted in 2011 raises some serious questions as to whether the alterations are needed. The trusses look to be in decent shape. Inspection reports do point  to pack rust and section loss, but most of this deterioration appears to be confined to edges and corners, and could probably be repaired. ODOT did comment that their have been problems with the expansion joints on the truss spans, and replacing them will correct this problem. However, HistoricBridges.org suggests that perhaps another way to solve this problem could be found. Different types of expansion bearing and joints are available, and so perhaps a change in design of the expansion system would also correct any problems.

Photos and Videos: Anthony Wayne Bridge

Available Photo Galleries and Videos

Click on a thumbnail or gallery name below to visit that particular photo gallery. If videos are available, click on a video name to view and/or download that particular video.

 

	Structure Overview Original / Full Size Photos	A collection of overview photos that show the bridge as a whole and general areas of the bridge. For the best visual immersion and full detail, or for use as a desktop background, this gallery presents the photos for this bridge in the original digital camera resolution.
	Structure Details Original / Full Size Photos	A collection of detail photos that document the parts, construction, and condition of the bridge. For the best visual immersion and full detail, or for use as a desktop background, this gallery presents the photos for this bridge in the original digital camera resolution.
	Structure Overview Mobile Optimized Gallery	A collection of overview photos that show the bridge as a whole and general areas of the bridge. View the photos for this bridge in a reduced size which is useful for mobile/smartphone users, modem (dial-up) users, or those who do not wish to wait for the longer download times of the full-size photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer (great for mobile users) by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer
	Structure Details Mobile Optimized Gallery	A collection of detail photos that document the parts, construction, and condition of the bridge. View the photos for this bridge in a reduced size which is useful for mobile/smartphone users, modem (dial-up) users, or those who do not wish to wait for the longer download times of the full-size photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer (great for mobile users) by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer
	Previous Bridge Photo-Documentation	A collection of overview and detail photos. In particular, there are some excellent on-bridge and portal views in this gallery. This photo gallery contains a combination of Original / Full Sized photos and Mobile/Smartphone Optimized (Reduced Size) photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer

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