The American Society of Civil Engineers - Toledo Section celebrated its 100th anniversary by recognizing the Anthony Wayne Bridge in Toledo, Ohio, as a civil engineering landmark.
The bridge was a landmark from the very beginning, designed by Waddell & Hardesty and constructed by the McClintic-Marshall Company. It was also a trendsetter: It’s the first American bridge to use deep, riveted plate girder spans. The 3,218-ft-long suspension bridge replaced a series of drawbridges across the Maumee River, providing unfettered access between the east and west sides of the river so commerce could flourish throughout northwest Ohio.
The Anthony Wayne Bridge is unique because the state of Ohio didn’t contribute to its funding. Adjusted for inflation, its $2.6 million price tag in 1931 amounts to more than $60 million today--all local funding!
To commemorate the Anthony Wayne Bridge's enormous impact on Toledo’s economic outlook as the primary artery of commerce, industry, and tourism in the region, ASCE unveiled a permanent educational display honoring the bridge at the nearby Middlegrounds Metropark.
Read more about this historic steel bridge from WTOL 11. Craving more information about historic steel bridges in the United States? Click through the National Steel Bridge Alliance’s A Century of American Steel Bridges timeline, featuring photos, videos, and maps of America’s most enduring steel bridges and what they witnessed over decades in service.