Toledo Lucas County OH Port Authority’s Facility #3 Bridge Replacement

For nearly fifty years, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s Facility #3 Bridge quietly serviced the area of Toledo, Ohio as a critical access route. With installation back in 1972, this bridge was built originally with concrete box beams. After all these years of weathering the elements, salt spray and heavy industrial traffic, the bridge had gone into disrepair. In 2024, the deterioration forced an emergency closure of the bridge, cutting off an essential route for local personnel. This essential route serviced a secured facility, serving as a vital access road for dredging contactors and equipment – the lifeblood of the Port’s daily operations. Though not visible to the public eye, it serves as a critical connecting point for these local personnel and keeps the Port functioning smoothly.

The Port Authority was preparing for a major facility expansion and planned to bring in massive amounts of stone material to the area, which made the timing aspect of the project very critical. After an inspection, the bridge was in worse condition than the Port anticipated and caused project members to jumpstart the bridge upgrade sooner rather than later.

The engineering team from The Mannik & Smith Group, in partnership with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and contractor Miller Bros. Const., Inc., faced an immense challenge: design and construct a bridge that could be installed in record time, stand up to the harsh industrial environment, and remain virtually maintenance-free for generations to come. They quickly identified the material, finalized the design, and ordered materials to get the construction rolling.

It became quickly apparent that the best coating protection system for the bridge would be hot-dip galvanizing. Choosing to galvanize the Press-Brake Formed Steel Tub Girders ensured that the steel members would be able to stand strong against the corrosive environment for nearly 100 years down the road with minimal touch-up and repair. Not only would this decision impact the life cycle of the bridge, but the lightweight nature of the galvanized steel sections enabled the engineers to reuse the existing galvanized piers, saving time and a sustainable solution for the project. The low-maintenance durability of galvanizing aligned perfectly with the Port Authority’s vision: build once, build right, and build for the future.

This new superstructure was designed to be fully continuous, allowing for a jointless concrete deck – eliminating expansion joints, reducing long-term maintenance needs, and enhancing ride quality. The bridge would stand as a symbol of seamless and modern bridge design, expanding the driving surface from 14 feet to a safer 20 feet that would accommodate two 10-foot lanes.

An impressive aspect of this bridge construction was just how fast the teams involved were able to move from design to delivery. The Mannik & Smith Group had only considered the option in design a year prior. The beams were designed, delivered 8 weeks after the order, and once materials arrived on-site, the girders were set and bolted within just a few days. The speed at which this project moved would not even be attainable with concrete bridge construction due to the concrete fabrication lead time, size of crane needed because of the weight of the materials and coordination efforts.

For the customer, resilient and sustainable infrastructure were key aspects in ensuring the Toledo, Ohio bridge replacement would stand for many years down the road, and galvanizing was able to offer a solution to both. The seamless integration of galvanized components would not only meet performance needs for the customer but also set a benchmark for the future of bridge building in the Toledo area and beyond.