Bridge dedicated to Slippery Rock veterans
WORTH TWP — As an engineer, Laura Goossen knows a good bridge needs to be built with strength, longevity and stability in mind.
Goossen likened the core construction concept of bridges to the needs of a military unit, which also needs members who exemplify strength, longevity and stability.
The military veteran said she was proud to see Bridge No. 7890, which takes commuters on New Castle Road over Interstate 79, be renamed as the “Veterans of Slippery Rock Bridge” on Veterans Day, about one year after the project was started by Slippery Rock Area Middle School students.
“Many individuals, organizations and communities worked together to achieve this goal,” said Goossen, an alumna of Slippery Rock Area High School and West Point. “We wanted a name that honors veterans past, present and future. The Veterans of Slippery Rock Bridge holds a special place in my heart, because of my family’s history.”
Goossen said Robert Book, a social studies teacher at the middle school, had asked her last Veterans Day how the school could have a bridge renamed to honor veterans of the area. Book and Goossen contacted state legislators to begin the process, and upon learning that the bridge would need a proposed name first, Book had students in grades five through 12 submit possibilities.
“They could put down any name, and we got hundreds. Some of them were super touching, like their grandpas, family members,” Book said. “We wanted to include as many people as possible, and that’s how we landed on the name we did.”
After about a year of work, Book, Goossen, and a slew of community officials and individuals celebrated the bridge’s dedication Friday with a ceremony at Love’s Truck Stop.
Book led the event, which included speeches from Slippery Rock school district superintendent Alfonso Angelucci, Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo, state Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, and Goossen, who was the keynote speaker.
Lane Rawson, a veteran of the Marine Corps, also spoke at the ceremony, and said he is proud to have a bridge dedicated to veterans in Slippery Rock, but even more proud that its naming was led by students.
“Being able to drive across the bridge, and seeing that it is named for all of us, will make me hold my head a little higher,” Rawson said. “I’m going to hold my head even higher because I know that the kids of the community are the ones who did this.”
Book said a majority of the students were on board with the project, and many were in attendance at the dedication Friday.
Book also said that in addition to being part of an initiative that would leave a mark on local history, the students got to learn a little more about the way governments work, which was satisfying as a social studies teacher.
“They got to see the legislative process at work,” Book said. “Our kids are really connected to veterans. … Our kids really care about veterans and their service.”
The ceremony was marked by the playing of “taps” and the national anthem. Goossen commended the students involved in the project for their work in making it a reality, and asked everyone in attendance to think of bridges as being like military veterans.
“Similar to a bridge, veterans endure all of their personal challenges as well as the challenges of their soldiers here and abroad,” Goossen said. “Bridges fundamentally connect one area to another. … Our veterans must be connected and engaged with the community.
“Please don’t just connect with a veteran on Veterans Day; connect with them throughout the year.”
