Craig Memorial Bridge

The Craig Memorial Bridge in Toledo, Ohio, carries Ohio Route 65 over the Maumee River.

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History

After the Cherry Street Bridge was destroyed in the flood of 1883, the city of Toledo moved the remains of the bridge downstream, built two new spans, and established the Ash-Consaul Bridge. ¹ The Ash-Consaul Bridge was demolished in 1957 to make way for the Craig Memorial Bridge, which was part of Ohio Route 120. ⁴

The first section of the relocated Ohio Route 120 was opened between US Route 20 and Ohio Route 51 in 1955. In 1957, the route was extended north to Summit Street in Toledo, which required the completion of a Maumee River double-leaf bascule drawbridge. ⁵ By 1959, the highway extended to Michigan as the Toledo-Detroit Expressway and was designated as Ohio Route 120 south of Summit Street and US Route 24A north of Summit Street. ^{6 7}

In 1958, the state of Ohio requested that the Toledo-Detroit Expressway be designated as Interstate 77, which would have connected Marietta to Cleveland and then continued westward to Detroit and Port Huron, Michigan. ⁷ However, Interstate 77 was truncated to Cleveland, and the route through Toledo was redesignated as Interstate 280. These changes were approved in November 1958.

As the highway was built before the Interstate Highway System, Interstate 280 had substandard geometry and bridges throughout its length. Upgrades south of East Toledo were not made until 1990 due to the seven at-grade intersections. ⁷ Additionally, the drawbridge and its network of ramps on both ends posed challenges.

By 1996, the Maumee River drawbridge opened approximately 900 times a year for ship traffic, each time causing an average delay of seven minutes. ¹ By 2007, the number of openings had decreased to 266. Despite this, the ramp configurations were still hazardous, particularly with the three-leg northbound exit to Summit and Huron Street. The Huron ramp was closed shortly afterward due to a series of serious accidents. ⁸ Other ramps had poor sight distances and little to no merge lanes.

The Craig Memorial Bridge was closed to all traffic in 2007 for its conversion into a local roadway as part of the Veterans Glass City Skyway project. ² This work included creating a separate bike path, installing fiberglass decking for the bike path instead of a steel grid, removing the original Interstate 280 ramps, and filling in the Interstate 280 trench through North Toledo with 815,000 cubic yards of soil at a depth of 20 feet. The drawbridge reopened to traffic on December 15, 2009, but work continued to transform the remaining Interstate 280 ramps and areas into public parks. The total project cost was $21.3 million.

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Gallery

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Information

• State: Ohio
• Route: OH Route 65
• Type: Double-Leaf Bascule
• Status: Active - Automobile

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Sources

1. Weber, Laren. “Beneath the beams, abutments, and concrete, Toledo’s Maumee crossings have a story to tell.” Toledo Blade 17 June 2007: n.p. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.
2. Patch, David. “Toledo’s Craig Memorial Bridge set to reopen to traffic after long closure.” Toledo Blade 14 Dec. 2009: n.p. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.
3. Harvey, Hank. “Life in the Fast Lane Surrounds Toledo.” Toledo Blade 3 Apr. 2013: n.p. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.
4. “Official Highway Map.” Ohio Department of Highways 1955. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. Map.
5. “Official Highway Map.” Ohio Department of Highways 1957. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. Map.
6. “Official Highway Map.” Ohio Department of Highways 1959. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. Map.
7. “Interstate 280.” Kurumi n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. Article.
8. Patch, David. “Public participation played an important role in the Skyway’s conception, design, development.” Toledo Blade 17 June 2007: n.p. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.