The longest highway in the state of Oregon will now be named in honor of Gold Star military families. It’s one of the many highway naming projects championed by a retired U.S. Army officer from Bend.
Gov. Tina Kotek signed Oregon House Bill 2146 Saturday, designating U.S. Highway 30 as the Oregon Gold Star Families Memorial Highway. Saturday was Armed Forces Day.
The highway spans 477 miles from Astoria in the northwest corner of the state to the Idaho state line. Most of it runs in conjunction with Interstate 84.
Dick Tobiason, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and chairman of the Bend Heroes Foundation, wrote the bill.
“What a grand tribute by Gov. Kotek and the Legislature and all who testified honoring Oregon’s 6,000+ Gold Star Families on this first state border to border Gold Star Families Memorial Highway in the USA!!” Tobiason said in an email announcing the signing.
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Highway 30 becomes the ninth highway in the state named to honor veterans and military service in general.
Tobiason is also leading the effort to have all of U.S. Highway 20, coast-to-coast, designated as the National Medal of Honor Highway. Two weeks ago, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced bipartisan legislation toward that goal. Tobiason has already led the push to create 12 separate State Medal of Honor highways in the states through which it runs.
