MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 2000
County's longest bridge opens over Sandusky River
By Erik Burriss
Staff Writer
OLD FORT -- Eleven months to the day after ground was broken, the longest bridge over the Sandusky River opened for traffic.
Several hundred people, and quite a few dogs, braved the Sunday afternoon humidity to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the P.M. Gillmor Old Fort Bridge.
"This has to be one of the most anticipated events in the history of Old Fort," County Commissioner Janet Dell said.
"This bridge is the culmination of eight years of working together," County Commissioner Ken Estep said.
The 702-foot long span carries CR 51 across the river. It replaces a bridge built in 1924 that has been restricted to one lane for the last 11 years.
Since the county engineer is required to keep road closings to a minimum, "let's cut this ribbon and get some traffic over the bridge," County Engineer Jim Nimz said.
The county commissioners, along with P.M. Gillmor and his eight-year-old namesake grandson, Paul Michael Gillmor, obliged the engineer, cutting the ribbon held by little P.M.'s four-year old brothers Connor and Adam.
P.M. Gillmor, his grandchildren and their parents Karen and U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor, rode in the first car across the bridge, a 1908 Buick. A parade of classic and antique automobiles carried the county commissioners, county engineer and other county officials over the Sandusky River, a tradition to ensure if the structure collapses, it will take the people responsible with it.
To help prevent that, the Rev. Jerry Wiles of the Old Fort United Methodist Church was called upon to bless the bridge.
"May it not only be a connector of pavements, but a connector of people," Wiles said.