‘Bridge-ocalypse Baby’ born in the midst of Glenn Highway chaos

PALMER — For parents, every child’s birth is special with its own story. Tonya and Ron Bell’s story has its own special place in Alaskan history, tied to the massive Glenn Highway shutdown from last Thursday through the weekend.

Their daughter, Mackenzie Rose Bell could have been born on the side of the road, but the couple ditched their original birth plan and made it back to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in the nick of time.

“It was something special that nobody can take away from us — the best present ever,” Ron Bell said.

Par for the course, Ron and Tonya are still recuperating a few days after Mackenzie was born at seven pounds, four ounces at 20 and a half inches long.

“We wouldn’t have made it to Anchorage,” he said.

A Big Horn Trucking vehicle carrying a small structure crashed into the Artillery Road bridge crossing lanes of the Glenn Highway approximately at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, damaging one of the 200,000 pound girders that support the bridge. The Department of Transportation (DOT) assessed the damage and deemed the bridge unsafe for anyone to drive under. Valley commuters had to take a detour through Eagle River’s business district and its core residential thoroughfares while damage to the overpass bridge near the inbound South Eagle River exit at Mile 13 on the Glenn Highway were repaired.

Cars piled up, stuck at a standstill. It took most of the commuters three to five hours to make it into Anchorage on Thursday, March 22 and the road wasn’t cleared for traffic until Sunday, March 25. Among the pile of cars were expecting parents, Ron and Tonya, after what started as a normal morning, changed dramatically when Mackenzie decided she was on her way into the world.

“Tonya said, ‘either I just peed my pants or my water just broke’ – all nonchalantly,” he said.

They got ready and got on the road. Tonya had driven back from Anchorage the day before and noticed the damage. Their original birth place was supposed to be at the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC). Ron called them up and heard something along the lines of, “oh snap! You aren’t going to make it!”

They carried on and traffic appeared normal until they hit Peter’s Creek. That’s when they found that no one was moving. Both still keeping their cool, they took the exit and headed back the Valley on the Old Glenn, Ron said.

“We’re not chancing this. We’re gonna’ go back,” he said.

On their way back, Tonya suggested maybe they turn back around and try again since she wasn’t having any contractions. They were worried about the price tag of going to another hospital.

“Are we going to end up with a 15, 20 thousand dollar bill?” he said.

So they turned around, and winded up at Peter’s Creek again. Tonya had to use the restroom and Ron wanted some coffee so they pulled into the gas station near Three Bears. This is where they posted the social media-catching selfie on the Facebook group, Glenn Highway Traffic Report. They got back in line and Ron thought her contractions were 20 minutes apart. Actually, she was having contractions five minutes apart and it dawned on her that she should tell him.

“Okay, we’re heading back because this baby is coming today,” he said.

They turned around and headed back to the Valley once more. They made it to Mat-Su Regional and Mackenzie was born three hours later.

“They [hospital staff] were great,” he said.

Tonya delivered her all naturally, according to Ron.

“Tonya’s a pretty tough cookie anyway,” he said.

This is the couple’s first child together and the two both have children from previous relationships: Tonya with two sons, 14 and 9 and Ron with 15-year-old son back in Colorado. Ron said that the gender remained an intentional mystery up until her birth, adding an extra sense of magic when they found out. He said that they didn’t agree on a name until they were at the hospital. Had it been a boy, Ron said he liked the name Liam Alexander. He’s thrilled to have Mackenzie after striking a deal with Tonya to have a child together before he turned 40. He’s also happily, yet slowly, stepping into the role of a stepfather.

“It takes time to develop that relationship; to build up trust, respect, a lot of things when it comes to stepping into a role like that,” he said.

The couple is taking it easy, trying to get sleep whenever possible. He said he feels blessed everything worked out, a healthy child born with the love of his life.

“She’s the yin to my yang,” he said.

According to DOT Media Liaison, Admin Operations Manager, Shannon McCarthy, the bridge is safe to drive under and over. They removed the damaged girder and opened the southbound lanes just after 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 25. The overpass lanes on Artillery Road were shifted all the way south and “lost a lot of shoulder” she said. She anticipates the long term repairs to take quite some time.

“When the Eklutna Bridge was damaged, it took two years to fix,” McCarthy said.