JEFFERSON CITY—Just a day after hundreds gathered at the Capitol to honor fallen Missouri workers, the Senate approved House Bill 303, which includes a provision identical to legislation sponsored by Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, that designates a portion of Interstate 70 leading up to the new Mississippi River bridge after Andy Gammon, a carpenter who tragically lost his life while working on the project.

On Monday (4-22), the Missouri Department of Labor held its annual memorial day for Missouri’s fallen workers in the rotunda of the State Capitol. The program, which Sen. Romine took part in, included a video memorial to honor the lives of Missouri’s lost workforce. Gammon’s family attended the event, along with the family of Robert Jett, a local worker who lost his life in a forklift accident.

A day later, on Tuesday (4-23), the Senate unanimously approved House Bill 303, which designates the section of I-70 that runs before and up to halfway across the new Mississippi River bridge, or the Illinois state line, the Andy Gammon Memorial Highway, among other provisions.

“It was particularly appropriate we were able to pass this legislation to honor Andy the same week as the annual Missouri Workers’ Memorial Day, of which I was proud to be a part,” said Sen. Romine. “Andy was a good man who lost his life while serving our state. It’s important we honor his memory and never forget the cost he, and other workers, have paid for the citizens of Missouri.”

Gammon was 35 years old when he lost his life in a crane accident during construction of the bridge in 2012. He leaves behind a wife and two young children, 8 and 9 years old.

House Bill 303 now goes back to the House for consideration. If approved as is, the bill will go to the governor’s desk.

For more information on Sen. Romine’s sponsored legislation, visit his official Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/romine.