Over the past 7 months, crews from E.S. Wagner Company have been working tirelessly on the replacement of the Ella Street River Bridge.
While most of the structural components are complete, items still being finished include; grooving the concrete bridge deck, striping, a minimal amount of sidewalk installation, the installation of the decorative light poles, the removal of the cofferdam fill material from the river and final dirt work including grading and seeding. Some of the remaining work may extend into December; however, it is the city and contractor's intent to still get the road open by the initially established deadline. Many of the remaining items are not critical towards achieving this milestone, thus, conversations have been initiated in regard to how to manage both traffic flow and the potential remaining work in a manner that's the least impactful, while also safe for both residents and the bridge workers.
Throughout construction, one of the project’s biggest fans has been Elliott Baugher. Elliott is the 5 year old son of Marc and Liz Baugher. He has always loved tools, construction equipment, and building things since the age of 3.
Elliott’s mother Liz took him to the construction site the very first day of the project because she knew he would like to see the trucks. From then on, he asked to go every morning and when the crew noticed him, he wanted to go even more. Every day he could be found wearing his construction gear which consisted of a hard hat, safety vest and tool belt. Elliott felt the need to wear this outfit because he feared without it, the construction crews would not know who he was.
Elliott’s mother Liz stated “The guys from E.S. Wagner are top notch, always talking to him and explaining what they were doing during the process. He knows most of them by name and they gave him ES Wagner stickers for his hard hat. They told him he was part of the crew and even gave him some of their tools! We visit weekly since school started back up and all the guys still make an effort to stop working and talk to him. He has really loved seeing this project and I hope it leads to a career in construction for him.”
City Engineer Matt Watson stated, “Elliott’s involvement in the project was appreciated by everyone involved and brought a sense of joy and excitement to everyone’s day and for that it is only fitting to invite Elliott to attend the ceremony and cut the ribbon on behalf of the City of Tiffin.”
The ribbon cutting for the Ella Street River Bridge Project will take place Tuesday, November 28, at 4 p.m., and the public are strongly encouraged to attend this milestone event.