Dover Bridge Renamed After Civil Rights Leader John Robert Lewis

DOVER, NJ — The newly rebuilt East Blackwell Street Bridge, in Dover, was renamed in honor of Congressman and civil rights leader John Robert Lewis, who died last year, at the age of 80.

Lewis played a key role in the 1966 historic march on Washington, while still in his 20s, and later in the 1965 voting rights march that departed from Selma, according to Britannica.

As protestors tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River, they were "brutally" attacked by state troopers, using tear gas, bullwhips and billy clubs. The incident, dubbed "Bloody Sunday" sparked a wave of protests across the country for racial justice.

“It is particularly fitting that we are here today with another bridge to celebrate the Congressman’s life," Mayor Carolyn Blackman said in a ceremony unveiling a plaque in memory of Lewis. "We have to start dedicating these honors and have future generations able to Google his name someday and learn what John Lewis did.”

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Lewis to lead a federal volunteer agency and in 1986 he was elected as a congressman from Georgia. He died in July 2020 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The John Robert Lewis bridge connects two sides of the Rockaway River near the South Salem Street bridge.

The project to replace the bridge's 37-year-old decking began January 2020 was done by November. The 1.85 million in funding came from the Local Bridges Future Needs program, by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

With around 18,000 vehicles crossing daily, it is a major artery for the town.

“A bridge connects two sides. Congressman Lewis, through his work as a civil rights leader, bridged the gap between races," state Senator Anthony Bucco said.