HANOVER TWP., Northampton County, Pa. — With morning traffic filtering by on Route 512, the extended family of a late Bethlehem PennDOT worker gathered Friday morning.
They were there to honor his memory as the state dedicated a bridge to one of its employees killed on the job.
About 40 people were on hand when the state Transportation Department revealed a sign naming the span over the Monocacy Creek the Raphael Rivera Memorial Bridge.
Rivera, a 59-year-old heavy machine operator, died Sept. 7, 2000, after a dump truck backed over him during a repaving project on Raubsville Road in Williams Township.
The ceremony came as a long-awaited birthday gift to Consuela Rivera, his widow. The family sang "Happy Birthday" to her in English and Spanish.
Some family members on hand came from as far away as the Dominican Republic and North Carolina.
Rafael Rivera, his son, described his father as a dedicated family man. Despite working a physically demanding job that often required him to work odd hours, he never missed one of his son's sporting events, Rafael Rivera said.
Raphael Rivera was a fixture at the North Central Little League, which has since become part of the North Bethlehem Little League; the league created a memorial to him on one of its fields.
'Gift I will never forget'
Rafael Rivera said he selected the Route 512 bridge to honor his father because it's between his home in the township and his mother's home in Bethlehem.
Rafael Rivera said he was grateful his children, who never met their grandfather, would be able to see his name on display.
"I drive past this bridge several times every day. It means every time I drive over this I'll be thinking of him."Rafael Rivera, son of late PennDOT worker Raphael Rivera
"I drive past this bridge several times every day," he said. "It means every time I drive over this I'll be thinking of him."
Raphael Rivera's nephew, Carlos Diaz of Bethlehem, said he worked for PennDOT as an intern when he was 18. The older, more experienced workers quickly got to work busting the young kid's chops, he said.
But when they learned he was Rivera's nephew, he immediately was treated with newfound respect.
They gave him the benefit of the doubt because of Rivera's reputation as a good man and hard worker, Diaz said, and he's guarded his own reputation closely since.
"That is one gift Tio Rafo gave me that I will never forget," Diaz said.
Raphael Rivera is among 10 PennDOT workers who have died on the job in District 5, which includes Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties.
The state legislature recently passed legislation letting bridges to be named after all 10.
