NEW AND IMPROVED — A passerby looked over the edge of the Beatty Park Bridge, which is undergoing a restoration but was temporarily opened during Saturday’s Christmas in the Park. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — Years of effort culminated in Saturday’s dedication of the Beatty Park Bridge, the restoration of which is set to conclude next year.

Visitors to the 99-acre nature park may have been surprised to see the bridge temporarily open and drivable during the Friends of Beatty Park’s annual Christmas in the Park celebration. Expected to last only a week, the opening marked significant progress for the bridge, which has been closed to vehicular and foot traffic since 2019 due to structural deterioration.

Nearly five years ago, conversations began regarding the bridge’s replacement, with some advocating to restore the original bridge — an historic sandstone arch bridge originally constructed in 1884 that grants access to the park’s Old Stone Lodge.

After plans advanced in 2023, restoration began, fueled by $290,800 in Community Development Block Grant funds and roughly $425,000 budgeted from the City of Steubenville’s general fund COVID Lost Revenue account. City Council would later give the project another $149,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover rising costs.

Flora VerStraten-Merrin, the Friends of Beatty Park’s founder, took time during Saturday’s Christmas celebration to thank major contributors to the project, emphasizing volunteers who keep the park well ordered.

UNVEILING — Flora VerStraten-Merrin, founder of the Friends of Beatty Park, unveiled the Beatty Park Bridge’s historical sign, one of 14 in the park sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Steubenville. -- Christopher Dacanay

“We really want to thank the city and the people who worked on the bridge who did a wonderful job. If you have the opportunity to look at it, it’s beautiful. … We’re really happy, as volunteers, and the community that’s seen it is really happy with the results of the bridge.”

Final portions of the project still remain, VerStraten-Merrin said. Temporary pavement will be added to the bridge, and permanent asphalt will go down in the spring.

VerStraten-Merrin offered thanks to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, as well as Pullman Services of Pittsburgh, which did the bridge’s stone work. Fort Steuben Maintenance is the project’s main contractor.

She also thanked former Councilwoman at large Kimberly Hahn, who was “very instrumental” in obtaining federal funding for the project. Also key contributors to the project were bridge engineer Bill Vermes and bridge historian Dave Simmons, whose expertise reportedly helped win over officials with the idea that the bridge could be saved.

“People were telling us that the bridge could not be saved, that the bridge was not worth saving. … Bill and Dave, with over 65 years of experience … told us: ‘Yes, you can save this bridge, Flora.'”

VerStraten-Merrin also expressed gratitude for officials who supported and enjoyed the park even before they had a say in the city’s financial decisions: First Ward Councilman and former Parks and Recreation Board member Dave Albaugh, Third Ward Councilwoman Heather Hoover, former Third Ward Councilman Eric Timmons and parks board member Tom Fahey.

“These are people that I knew before they had any political influence in the community,” VerStraten-Merrin said. “They already liked the park. They were putting their money where they mouth was.”

Timmons and his father, Tom Timmons, helped secure funding through the Kiwanis Club of Steubenville to place 14 historical marker signs in the park, including one at the bridge, for roughly $1,000 a piece. The bridge’s sign — which features an 1890 photo of bikers on the bridge — was temporarily placed at the bridge for Saturday’s event and will permanently return once construction concludes.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district with Union Cemetery, Beatty Park has also seen improvement projects at its old pool, now an outdoor amphitheater, and new pool, now a green space with a mural from the Steubenville Art Association and grant-funded story walk from the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County.

Improvement projects wouldn’t be possible without the underlying efforts of volunteers who upkeep the park, VerStraten-Merrin. At that group’s heart are herself, Scott Wells, Tom Fahey, Buddy Merrin and Anthony Vitt.

“These are the people that don’t make excuses. ‘It’s too hot, it’s too cold, there are too many bugs (or) I might see a snake.’ They don’t say any of that stuff. They appreciate the park, they appreciate what the park has to offer. They’re inspired.”

Volunteers have saved the city “thousands and thousands” in upkeep costs, she said, adding that the effort has resulted in a growing relationship with the Parks and Recreation Department and Director Lori Fetherolf.

For the past three years, Vitt has gathered individuals from the Eastern Ohio Corrections Center to work at the park, once or twice a week for six months at a time. Those individuals’ contributions are crucial given other volunteers’ age, VerStraten-Merrin.

Parks board member Kelly Herrmann recalled how the park was in “disarray” when she first arrived in Steubenville as a student in the 1980s. The cost of taking care of the park was prohibitive for the city, she said, but the Friends’ volunteering made it possible.

“Flora and her volunteers, the Friends of Beatty Park, they have done exponentially more than we could have ever done through city council or the parks and recreation board because we just don’t have the resources. Their volunteer hours are overwhelming. I truly am amazed. And Flora is the one. All those people she mentioned certainly deserve to be thanked but absolutely none of it would have happened without (her).”

Eric Timmons said, “I was here when you started talking about this. The one thing I will say, there’s a lot of groups out there, a lot of organizations, but this is one that really gets stuff done. We can see that everywhere, you and your volunteers, it’s amazing what you do. We love coming down here.”

Timmons’ daughter, Theodora, commented: “I really like this bridge.”

Hoover said, “I love the park. I love it for my students, I love it for my community.”

Christmas in the Park is the Friends of Beatty Park’s final event of the year. Additional events — including the Dino Dash 5K and historical walking tour — will return next year. VerStraten-Merrin said it’s fulfilling to see children enjoying themselves at the event, in the park.

Amenities, which were all made possible through donations, included free hot chocolate, hot-dogs and cookies; stories and a bonfire with Ohio Department of Natural Resources archaeologist John Boileigh; a petting zoo provided by Ashmore Farm; kids’ crafts; pictures with Santa Claus; bouncy castles and a geocaching giveaway.