It’s already being called “the Stan Span” unofficially, but some state senators are considering whether to ask that the new bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Lou’s be called the Stan Musial Memorial Bridge. Kirkwood Senator Eric Schmitt says Musial might have been one of the best baseball players that ever lived, but many people have recalled since Musial’s death what a kind man he was off the field. He says the bridge should join the Musial statue at Busch Stadium as a symbol of good man’s character. “Bridges, at the heart of it, unite people. Bridges bring people together. and I think this is a fitting tribute to Stan Musial who did that his entire life,” he tells the Senate Transportation Committee.
A group from Park Hills is suggesting the bridge be named for a carpenter who died when he fell into the river last March while working on the project. Bonne Terre resident Travis Barnes wants the name of a friend put on the bridge. “Andy Gammon…was the best carpenter that ever worked on the bridge there. Without you guys’ help I can’t get his name on that bridge. and I think his family deserves that,” he has told the committee. .
Barnes says Gammon was someone he looked up to and was “the biggest Cardinals fan ever.” . St. Louis Senator Mark Lamping, a member of the committee, has told Barnes he’ll help see that Gammon’s memory is properly recognized on the bridge.