The Robert Craig Memorial Bridge is a four-lane, double-leaf

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

that spans the

Maumee River The Maumee River (pronounced ) ( sjw, Hotaawathiipi; mia, Taawaawa siipiiwi) is a river running in the United States Midwest from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph and ...

approximately one mile downstream from downtown

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. The bridge is named in memory of

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Robert Craig, a Scottish-born Toledoan who posthumously received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Opening to traffic during January 1957, the Craig Memorial Bridge was notable as one of the few

movable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...

s on the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

as it carried Interstate 280 over the Maumee River shipping channel; it remained as such until the June 2007 completion of the

Veterans' Glass City Skyway The Veterans' Glass City Skyway, commonly called the Toledo Skyway Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge on Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio. After many delays, it opened in 2007. The bridge has taken traffic and reduced delays on the Robert Craig ...

project. Since the re-routing of I-280, the bridge is now a local route—connecting Summit Street (on the west side of the river) to Front Street (on the east side). As such, the Craig Bridge has assumed the local role of its predecessor—an unnamed bridge that connected Ash Street to Consaul Street until its demolition following the opening of the Craig Bridge. Upon completion of the Glass City Skyway, State Route 65 was extended across the Craig Bridge from North Summit Street to Front Street.

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External links

Road bridges in Ohio Transportation in Toledo, Ohio Bridges completed in 1956 Buildings and structures in Toledo, Ohio Monuments and memorials in Ohio Bascule bridges in the United States {{Ohio-bridge-struct-stub