On our return trip from Washington, DC, we crossed the majestic Veteran’s Glass City Skyway, which carries Interstate 280 over the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. This impressive 8,800 foot long, 400 foot tall cable-stayed bridge was completed in 2007 and provides 130 feet of clearance over the river shipping channel.

Unfortunately, unlike many other new highway bridges across the nation, this bridge itself provides no options for pedestrians or bicyclists to cross the Maumee River into downtown Toledo (near shore in the photogragh above). Perhaps during a future maintenance or upgrading project, the bridge could be retrofitted to allow safe usage by non-motorized users so that the new bridge can be intergrated as part of a comprehensive multi-modal transportation network serving all residents of Greater Toledo and Northwest Ohio, not just those with motor vehicles.

CLARIFICATION: Since the post was published it has come to my attention that the previous Craig Memorial Drawbridge remains and the downstream side of it was reconfigured to include a bi-directional bike lane. This greatly improves non-motorized accessibility across the river, though it remains subject to delays when the drawbridge is open.