With work underway on the new bridge connecting Missouri and Illinois via I-70 in Downtown St. Louis, politicians and community members are debating an important issue: what to name the bridge, or rather, after whom.
This topic is a controversial one, as those involved with the naming believe two men are deserving of the honor: Stan Musial, the recently deceased Cardinals baseball legend, and Andy Gammon, a young man from Park Hills who lost his life during the bridge’s construction.
Missouri Representative Linda Black feels that naming the bridge after Gammon is important as he personified what it means to be an American laborer.
"I think that he symbolizes the American worker that pioneered our railroads, that built the canals and the channels and the locks and the dams in our river. He represents the essence or the spirit of the American worker, and so I think it would be befitting to name the bridge after someone who encapsulates the spirit of the American worker,” Black said.
A man who gave his life for a project is certainly worthy of commemoration, but according to Missouri Representative Kevin Engler the reality remains that Musial is known by the masses.
"I think there's a way that we can accomplish both things,” Engler said. “I think that we can probably have part of the road, or the on-ramps, whatever, memorializing Mr. Gammon. And I think that would be a very appropriate and effective way to honor him."
Engler has met with Gammon's family and plans to meet with MODOT to discuss the ways in which to honor Mr. Gammon.