A growing controversy is swirling around the naming of a span of I-70 that connects Illinois and Missouri in the St. Louis area. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin recently announced proposed legislation to name the Interstate 70 bridge after baseball star Stan Musial, but many believe that the bridge should be named after a carpenter who was involved in a fatal construction accident while building the bridge.
Senators from Illinois and Missouri are not opposed to naming something after the carpenter, but seem more inclined to name the bridge after the baseball star.
“We don’t know if it’s a realistic possibility to get the bridge itself named after him, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something on one of the roadways,” said Missouri Senator Kevin Engler.
Another senator said that it is unclear which state actually has the right to name the bridge because it is part of a federally-funded interstate highway.
The publication of the debate in St. Louis-are newspapers has led to a flood of support for naming the bridge after the 35-year-old construction worker instead of the baseball star. Many people believe that is more appropriate to name the bridge after the construction worker because he lost his life to make the bridge possible.
“Let him long be remembered for the part he played in erecting the bridge, a part that he lost his life in doing,” one area resident told the Daily Journal.