Eight-year-old Daniel Ruefly stood along the shore of the Potomac River on a blustery December day in 1961, staring in amazement as a herd of politicians and other dignitaries officially dedicated the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.

“It was huge deal for the region,” said the now 53-year-old Ruefly. “I remember thinking how big it was and how many cars could go over it.”

The ceremony would mark the beginning of a long and contentious 30-year relationship between the Oxon Hill native and the troubled bridge — a relationship that will come to a crashing end when he brings the bridge down Monday night.

The Accokeek resident has dozens of stories about half-day long delays and other oddities. He was trying to cross the bridge when a suicide jumper shut down the bridge for nearly eight hours, and he was there for the Veteran’s Day snowstorm in 1987.

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One January afternoon in 1982, Ruefly was tempted to veer from his normal route during an intense snowstorm and head across the 14th Street Bridge, but when he reached a fork, he opted for his old faithful. Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge just a few minutes later, he said.

The daily commuter, who travels 90 miles roundtrip trip from Accokeek in southern Prince George’s to Rockville daily, said the bridge was always the best option — or at least the least worst.

But it was the 1999 car crash on the Wilson Bridge that left him with a broken hip that won him the chance to press the plunger that will bring down a nearly half-mile span of the bridge just before midnight on Monday. While the car accident was horrible in itself, the incident was compounded when the ambulance transporting him to the hospital was abruptly stopped when the drawbridge started rising before them.

Even though he won the opportunity to bring down the bridge, Ruefly wasn’t seeking all the attention that comes with it. His 22-year-old daughter nominated him for the honor — without telling him. So he was quite surprised Wednesday while vacationing in Williamsburg when a project spokesman called him on his cell phone to inform him of the news.

“I didn’t understand at first, all I heard was ‘blowing up the bridge,’ ” Ruefly said. “I thought it was a joke or some sort of terrorist group.”