06/20/08

Officials impressed by student-built foot bridge

Talk about community effort. One need look no further than the new Stonegate bridge connector to Robinson Woods to find it.

This spring, students from Kerry Kertes' engineering class at Cape Elizabeth High School designed and constructed a replacement bridge on the Stonegate trail.

"I was so impressed, I think this shows what happens with collaboration and our kids in the community, and a teacher like Kerry Kertes who makes learning come alive," said Trish Brigham, a member of the School Board who lives down the street from the project site. "I think the community owes them a thank-you."

At the June 10 meeting of the School Board, Brigham told fellow board members that for several days this spring, she noticed a number of cars parked at the end of her street from as early as 6 a.m., to as late as 5 p.m.

"The students worked literally, other than taking a break to go to classes, from dawn to dusk for at least two weeks," Brigham told the board.

The entire project also included digging holes for footings, and hauling the materials to the site as well as put them together, said Town Planner Maureen O'Meara. The students did the work, under Kertes' supervision.

"The commission is happy," said O'Meara, referring to the Town's Conservation Commission, which oversees Town trails and use of Town owned open space.

In February of this year, Kertes approached the commission with his class's interest in designing and implementing a project for the benefit of the town. Commissioners met with the class at the site to discuss site evaluation, materials, design and implementation.

Five students then presented individual plans to the commission. "They did a fabulous job with their presentations," said O'Meara. Some of the projects included railings, some steel, some wood, she said. The design that was ultimately accepted was a conglomeration of all the plans.

Because of the span of the bridge, commissioners decided that a steel frame would be necessary for construction. Kertes contacted a Cape Elizabeth alumnus, Bryan Tait of Casco Bay Steel in Saco, who donated two, 24-foot, 6-inch-by-6-inch I-beams for the project. Another High School student, the son of Cape contractor Skip Murray, donated his time to haul the steel with an all-terrain vehicle. One of the engineers employed by Oest Associates, the Town's engineering firm, also met with the students to discuss the plans.

The Town paid for the engineer's time, equipment rental and the materials except for the steel.

"This was a collaborative effort from the get-go," said Brigham. So many of the schools' successes stem from volunteer efforts and the support of the community, she said. "I was impressed and feel fortunate that I can walk over that bridge now," she told members of the board.

Kertes, in an e-mail, also said that walking over the bridge will be a source of pride for the students. "I enjoyed the project and I think the real power of the project will be each time the students visit the site with family/friends and can say, 'I helped build that bridge'."

Contributions came from many sources , but both O'Meara and Brigham credited Kertes especially. "Kerry was great, he really deserves a pat on the back," said O'Meara, who said the project would not have happened without his leadership and coordination.

Also this spring, Cape Elizabeth Middle School's eighth-grade class spent their annual community service day working in Winnick Woods, another system of trails and open space guided by the Conservation Commission.