Officials hail Veterans' Glass City Skyway at bridge dedication - Staff, Toledo Blade, OH
Several speakers, including Joe Blaze, business manager for Ironworkers Local 55, paid tribute to the workers who lost their lives during the bridge’s construction.
A gantry truss crane collapsed in February, 2004, killing ironworkers Mike Phillips, 42; Arden Clark II, 47; Robert Lipinski, Jr., 44, and Mike Moreau, 30, and injuring four others. And last April, a fifth worker, Andrew Burris, 36, a carpenter, was killed when a platform collapsed.
The memories of those workers were commemorated through a moment of silence and a wreath with five flowers that stood for each worker.
"We will never forget the ultimate price [they paid], nor will we forget their families," Mr. Blaze said.
Surviving familiy members of the workers who died during the bridge’s construction were called up to the podium and greeted with a round of applause.