The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Bruce L. Chapman Bridge dedicated
Firelands Rails to Trails celebrated the grand opening of the Bruce L. Chapman Bridge on Aug. 18. In Wakeman joined by local cyclists and trail enthusiasts along with residents and dignitaries, according to a news release.
The festivities also celebrated the rerouting of the Buckeye Trail onto the North Coast Inland Trail, via the bridge, the release said.
The double arch bridge, built in 1872 by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, is named for the late Bruce L. Chapin, a local contractor from whom the bridge was sold from his estate by then trustee Stan Chapman.
The bridge once carried fast mail trains, freight and passengers on the Lake Shore route as part of the original Transcontinental Railroad.
Firelands Rails to Trails retrofitted the bridge for trail use with volunteer efforts, donated funds and State Capitol funds for new railings thanks to assistance from state Sen. Gayle Manning.
“We owe much appreciation to Sen. Manning as well as Wakeman fiscal officer Trish Summers for alerting us of the State Capitol funds; as well as to the new owner, Lorain County Metro Parks, for bringing the various partners together,” said Lance Frank, president of Firelands Rails to Trails.
“In addition, it was local muscle and expertise from volunteers like Kenny Tkach, who prepared the stone deck as you see it today.”
Others present at the ribbon-cutting included state Rep. Dick Stein, a member of Ohio’s Legislative Trail Caucus; Jim Ziemnik, director of Lorain County Metro Parks; Wakeman Mayor Chris Hipp; Buckeye Trail Director Andrew Bashaw; former Chapin estate trustee Stan Chapman; members of the Chapin family as well as dozens of Firelands Rails to Trails members and volunteers.
“The Buckeye Trail now connects Wakeman with places like Cuyahoga Valley National Park as well as Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills,” said Buckeye Trail Director Andrew Bashaw.
According to the release, the trail was shifted north several miles from country roads to the North Coast Inland Trail route, as managed by Firelands Rails to Trails.
The Bruce L. Chapin Bridge is a key link in the North Coast Inland Trail which is about 103 miles, stretches from Lorain to Toledo and is about 85 percent complete.
The next step in the process is a small connection between the east end of the bridge and state Route 60, connecting central Wakeman to Redcap Park and the new Wakeman U.S. 20 East Bikeway.
Heading east from Wakeman, trail users will take the new bikeway to County Line Road, then north to the existing trail in Kipton.
The last two stone sections of North Coast Inland Trail in Lorain County will have pavement by the end of November.
Firelands Rails to Trails is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization responsible for the development and maintenance of the North Coast Inland Trail in Huron County.