Ashland’s 2022 city budget was maxed out when Lloyd and Norma Wygant approached Mayor Matt Miller to see if there were any city projects they could help move forward. The mayor immediately thought of a downtown arch, so he drove the couple to Columbus Ohio’s Short North Arts District neighborhood for inspiration. Norma Wygant liked the arch in Columbus but thought Ashland could improve the design in Columbus. Simonson Construction (Ashland) installed the arch fabricated by Firelands Fabrication out of New London, Ohio.
Firelands Fabrication worked closely with V&S regarding turnaround time of the material. V&S's Operations Manager spent time with the fabricator to discuss the proper venting & draining of the arch prior to hot-dip galvanizing of the steel pipe assembled arch. Originally, V&S was under the impression the arch was coming in two pieces. Once the arch arrived, it was in one 50’ section. This challenge was overcome by double dip / progressive dipping of the material at V&S which has a 48’ long kettle. Once galvanized, it was delivered to Simonson Construction Services to be painted prior to installation.
The arch was installed on Main Street and is 50’ long and nearly 30’ tall with lightbulbs that line the bottom of the arch.
The Wygants drove their Hot Wheels Chevy Camaro as the first people to drive under the arch, and as Norma Wygant mentioned of their $120,000 donation, "We have been here a long time and just want to give back to the city of Ashland."
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