The State Route 51 Bridge over the Portage River, built in 1926, was a two-lane reinforced concrete highway bridge with three spans, a closed spandrel concrete arch design, a length of 282 feet, and a width of 36 feet. Its concrete contained 98,000 pounds of reinforcement steel, and inner walls were coated with waterproofing material before being filled with compacted material. A limestone outcropping in the riverbed at this crossing created a shallow rapid and provided a solid foundation for the bridge. David Henry Overman designed the bridge during his first year with the Ohio Department of Highway's Bridge Bureau, and it displayed aesthetic detailing such as custom railings and concrete finishes that became associated with his work. The bureau's highly styled, large-scale bridge projects from the early 1800's to the 1950's employed many laborers and often required specialized craftsmen. In 1993, the Ohio Department of Transportation identified the bridge as worthy of consideration for historic recognition, and in 1994 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as one of the earliest bridges designed by Overman. Overman graduated in 1925 in civil engineering from the Ohio State University, worked for the State of Ohio for more than four decades, served as a civil engineer in the Navy Sea Bees during WWI, and retired in 1964 as Chief Bridge Engineer at the Ohio Department of Highways. His design excellence grew from an integration of science, technology, and art, along with a craftsman's familiarity with construction materials, tools, equipment, and methods and a talented artist's desire to achieve beauty in Ohio's highway bridges.