Nation’s longest covered bridge dedicated, named in ceremony

By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

August 26, 2008 07:58 pm

— Like the structure it identifies, the name of the longest covered bridge in the nation is lengthy: Smolen-Gulf Bridge, Ashtabula County Highway 25.
The new covered bridge, No. 17 for Ashtabula County, was dedicated and named Tuesday afternoon during a ceremony blessed with perfect weather and a large crowd, about 1,500 according to Betty Morrison, executive director of the Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Festival Committee, a co-sponsor of the dedication.
“This is a great day for Ashtabula County,” Morrison told the crowd, which gathered at the southeast end of the bridge in Plymouth Township. “This bridge is for you; it belongs to you, and we want you to enjoy it.”
Enjoy it they did. After 40 minutes of speeches and the official naming, a cross-cut saw was turned over to three pairs of local officials who took turns taking a chunk off a log; the bridge was opened to pedestrians, who walked the 613 feet to the Ashtabula Township side on the bridge deck and pedestrian walkways.
“I think it’s great,” said Mike Wood, whose son, Noah Richard Wood, was probably the youngest person to attend the opening: 6 days old. Noah, his mother Amy and father attended the event after reading about it in the newspaper that morning, although Mike has watched the bridge take shape as he travels Route 11 to work every day.
The bridge took two years to build, although it was first conceived back in 1995, when John Smolen was Ashtabula County engineer. Smolen, whom Betty Morrison calls “Mr. Covered Bridge,” envisioned straightening the approach to the dangerous gulf on State Road and building a covered bridge across the resulting 600-foot-long gap.
“John always had a dedication to preservation of covered bridges,” said Tim Martin, Ashtabula County engineer. “He had the foresight of understanding what bridges mean to the future of the county.”
Morrison said she felt from the beginning that Smolen’s name should be connected to the bridge, which replaced a steel span built in 1948. That span replaced a covered bridge that stood in the gulf for more than eight decades, and the new bridge’s name reflects both that history and Smolen’s work as the designer and structural engineer of the new span.
“This is a great honor to me,” Smolen said after the banner was unfurled to reveal the bridge’s name. “I couldn’t ask for a better honor in my career.”
“So many people have come up to me and said how pleased they are with the name,” Morrison said after the ceremony.
Smolen was among one of the first to ride across the bridge in the procession, which included several antique and classic cars, the Lakeside High Marching Band, the Covered Bridge Festival Committee’s miniature bridge and a team of draft horses and wagon owned and driven by Dick Stasiak and his grandson Sam Rettinger. The horses left a souvenir on the new deck: Morrison described it as “fertilizer to make the bridge grow longer.”
At 613 feet, the new bridge is the longest in the United States but falls way short of the 1,282-foot structure in Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada.
The new bridge cost $8 million, $5 million of which came from federal funds. Martin recognized Rep. Steven LaTourette’s role in helping the county secure federal money for the project. LaTourette was scheduled to attend the ceremony but was called away on a family emergency during his morning visit to the county.
Sen. George Voinovich did attend and praised Ashtabula County as the “comeback county, bridge county and Ohio’s Napa Valley.”
“This is for the future of this county and for the state,” Voinovich said.
Voinovich said the bridge pays homage to the state’s agricultural heritage, and he pointed out a serious need across the United States and particularly Ohio, which ranks second in the country for number of bridges, to keep maintaining and renewing bridges.
“We have a big infrastructure problem in the United States of America,” he said. “We’ve predicting it will cost about $20 billion during the next 10 years to take care of them. … I think about that $20 billion, folks, and I think about the fact we’re spending $12 billion a month in Iraq, and it doesn’t make much sense. We need to get back to our own human and physical infrastructure. We’ve let it go for too long of a time. …”
Ashtabula County commissioners, State Rep. Deborah Newcomb, Plymouth and Ashtabula township trustees and a representative from State Sen. Capri Cafaro’s office took their turns at the microphone, praising Smolen’s vision and the perseverance of the workers who brought the bridge to completion. Union Industrial Contractors and Koski Construction, which built the bridge, received many accolades for a job done well and without any serious accident.
“When we opened the bids, we couldn’t have been happier that the low bid was a local contractor,” Martin said.
“It’s a great thing when a local company can build something historical in its own town,” said Ryan Cochran, UIC co-owner.
The bridge spans the Ashtabula River at a height of 93 feet. Many of the visitors who walked across the bridge following the dedication expressed their respect for the men and women who had to work at such dizzying heights.
The structure, which bridges Ashtabula and Plymouth townships, is also part of Indian Trails Park. Ashtabula Township Park Commission Chairman Mike Wayman said the commission plans to build upon its presence.
“This bridge is going to be pushing us to revitalize Indian Trails Park,” he said.
Morrison said the bridge should bring lots of tourism dollars to the county. If Tuesday’s turnout is any indication, she’s on track with her prediction. Representatives of at least three covered-bridge societies attended, as well as bridge fans from across Ohio and from as far away as California and Florida.
Although the bridge has been dedicated and named, it will not be opened to traffic for at least a month. Paving, guardrail and other work remain to be completed before the road and bridge will be open to traffic.
Tim Martin best summed up the bridge when he quoted his 10-year-old son who, upon seeing a picture of the bridge, commented, “Wow, that’s really something for everybody to really be proud of, Dad.”
“He’s absolutely right,” said Martin.

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