9
Mar
Bridge Closed! Stopfinder App Keeping Parents Up-to-Date in Real-Time
- Posted By: Robb Snyder
- Category Featured, Announcements
Monroe Street bridge closure: Sylvania Schools adjusts bus routes for 150-day shutdown
District prepares detour plans, urges parents to download Stopfinder app
From WTVG.com / By Matt Mergen / Published: Mar. 3, 2026
SYLVANIA, Ohio (WTVG) – The Monroe Street bridge is set to close Sunday night as it enters its final phase of construction. The closure is expected to last 150 days while crews widen the bridge and build a new ramp.
Sylvania Schools is among the districts making plans to navigate the shutdown.
Jim Wolpert, the director of transportation for Sylvania Schools (OH), said the district has been preparing for the closure all school year — developing new bus routes and confirming staffing.
“Directly, it impacts 12-15 drivers, but indirectly, the traffic could impact the entire district,” Wolpert said. “We have been talking with all the drivers. We have consolidated some of the routes, preparing the drivers for what is coming.”
Detour options include routing buses north to Sterns Road in Michigan to reach the other side, or south to the Dorr Street roundabouts. Some route consolidations also involve avoiding the highway altogether.
Wolpert said adjustments will be made if traffic conditions exceed expectations.
“The uncontrollable is traffic,” Wolpert said. “We don’t know how traffic is going to spider web. Preparing for the uncontrollable is giving the drivers detour scenarios and having extra help available for when we are delayed.”
Wolpert said the district is working to communicate route changes with parents and is recommending the Stopfinder app. The app provides scheduled pickup times, bus numbers for the day, alerts when a bus is within 10 minutes of a stop, and real-time bus location tracking.
“The Stopfinder parent app is something that we have been pushing the last two years,” Wolpert said. “We are trying to stay consistent with our routes so that they know exactly which direction we are coming from, and the roads that we are taking, so that they can time out when their child can go to the bus stop.”
Read the story here.
