A section of railing left over from the old Bridgeport Bridge imploded last year is now decorating the village of Bridgeport's downtown memorial park.
Passersby may have noticed the large, bright blue object situated beside the Ohio historical marker designating "Historic Bridgeport."
Rick Kolb, Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce member, said he asked the contractor who razed the 1893 bridge that once spanned the Ohio River backchannel - Joseph B. Fay Co. of Tarentum, Pa. - if the chamber could have a piece of the bridge after their work was done.
Article Photos
Photo by Shelley Hanson
Rick Kolb, Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce member, stands in front of a restored railing section from the former Bridgeport Bridge with his grandchildren 14-month-old Addy and 10-year-old Devon.
The railing, which includes intertwined pieces of metal between two ornate posts, was restored by Taflan Steel Fabricators of Blaine thanks to a $1,000 donation from the Bridgeport Eagles charity, Kolb said.
He noted Taflan also coated it with zinc before Kolb painted it bright blue, a nod to Bridgeport High School's colors.
"It's Bridgeport's history. It's an important part of the gateway to the west," Kolb said. "Taflan had to do a lot of work on it. The corner post needed reformed, and they had to reinforce the bottom of it with new steel."
Kolb said village business City Advertisers plans to donate a bronze plaque for the site that will inscribed with the bridge's installation and implosion dates.
"The memorial park highlights Bridgeport's history," Kolb said.
The park is terraced and also includes a large statue of a soldier, two replica Civil War cannons and another larger cannon that Kolb believes was used during the Civil War era. He noted another portion of the village's history, old lettering from the demolished Bridgeport High School building, is expected to be incorporated into the park area this summer.
