Highway name might revert

By Rick Sherman
Sun Advocate Reporter

  State Rep. Christine Watkins said she “adores” former State Senator Mike Dmitrich, and has regarded him as a role model for many years. But she says it was an oversight to designate a section of U.S. Highway 6 as the Mike Dmitrich Highway because the entire route was already known as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Highway.
    In 1949, the interstate highway was designated the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, in honor of the Union Army of the Civil War Era. The road spans 3,200 miles across the country from Provincetown, MA on the east coast to its western terminus in Bishop, CA.
    In 2009, the Utah State Legislature renamed the section of the highway between Interstate 15 and Interstate 70 the Mike Dmitrich Highway to honor the retired Price Legislator. State Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville sponsored the bill to recognize Dmitrich for his 40 years of public service to the state, and his work to improve the highway. The Legislature did not allocate any money for new signs.
    But Rep. Watkins said the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War have been working tirelessly ever since to restore the Grand Army of the Republic Highway designation. Watkins is sponsoring a bipartisan bill this session to restore the honor for the GAR, while leaving other designations in place. House Bill 396 establishes the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, composed of the existing Route 6 within the state.
    According to the language in the bill, the Utah Department of Transportation shall designate the highway as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway on future state highway maps.
    Watkins said the bill allows for multiple designations for the highway, which includes a section for the Mike Dmitrich Highway, and a portion of the highway that is known as the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway.  
    The bill has been approved by the House of Representatives, and was passed out of a Senate Committee with a favorable recommendation on Wednesday. It now goes to the full Senate for consideration.