Span's cables glow with 2nd row of illumination

The new lights are part of an Ohio Department of Transportation contract to add maintenance platforms.

A state contractor recently finished installing a second row of lights on the Veterans' Glass City Skyway.

The lights shine up from the deck into the bridge's stay cables to make them more visible at night.

The bridge's original plan provided a single row of lights to illuminate the stays, but the stays' thickness blocked their beams from shining very high into the array. Shifting the existing lights and adding the second row cost $128,000, and was done as part of a $2.2 million Ohio Department of Transportation contract this summer to add maintenance platforms beneath the structure.

"The retrofit highlights the unique cable-stay structure of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway," said David Dysard, ODOT's district deputy director in Bowling Green. "We believe that the modifications made closely resemble the intent and showcase northwest Ohio's landmark bridge."

- David Patch