Oct 23, 2013 2 min read

The state Senate Tuesday approved a highway designation bill with two amendments from state Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, honoring local heroes.

“The designations will serve as a reminder to everyone traveling these roads that there are people they’ve never met who are willing to lay down their lives to protect them,” Solobay said. “It’s important for the friends and family of these men to know that they will never be forgotten.”

Solobay’s additions to House Bill 925 were approved by the Senate Transportation Committee in June, and the full Senate unanimously approved the measure.

The bill designates the Murtland Avenue exit from Interstates 79 and 70 the Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek, U.S.M.C. Exit. Kovacicek, of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Corps Reserve, was killed in combat in Iraq July 10, 2005.

In addition, H.B. 925 contains a provision naming the I-79 interchange at Mount Morris in Greene County as the Sgt. Michael Todd May Interchange.

May, 41, of the Monongalia County (W.Va.) sheriff’s department, was killed in the line of duty in the early morning hours of Feb. 18, 2012, during a vehicle pursuit along I-79, a mile north of the state line in Greene County.

The bill goes back to the House for concurrence on the amendments.