Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that Highway 13 Missouri River Bridge has been named for my good friend, and fellow Missourian, The Honorable Ike Skelton. The dedication ceremony took place on May 14, 2005, in Lexington, Missouri,…
Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that Highway 13 Missouri River Bridge has been named for my good friend, and fellow Missourian, The Honorable Ike Skelton. The dedication ceremony took place on May 14, 2005, in Lexington, Missouri, Mr. Skelton's hometown. I know that all the Members of the House will join me in congratulating Mr. Skelton on this honor. Mr. Skelton's remarks at the event are set forth as follows:
Thank you so much, Joe Aull, for your generous
introduction. Members of the Missouri General Assembly, Ray
and Lafayette County neighbors, and my fellow Missourians.
Today, we dedicate an engineering feat--the magnificent new
bridge across the wide Missouri. What an opportunity to
kindle pride in our community and pride in our state. This is
truly a moment to remember.
Anyone who lives around here or who travels along this
portion of Highway 13 can testify that for years people have
asked, ``when are we going to get a new bridge?'' More
recently the question has changed to, ``when is that new
bridge going to open?'' So believe me, I think it is
impossible to exaggerate what a very happy day this is for
those who have waited so long for this day to arrive.
According to the Roman orator Cicero, the greatest of all
virtues is gratitude. And, I want to express my gratitude to
my neighbors, the members of the Highway 13 Missouri River
Bridge Dedication Steering Committee, the members of the
Missouri Department of Transportation, and the members of
Missouri's General Assembly for the naming of this bridge.
Most of all, I am grateful to my wife, Susie, for her
tireless support that allows me to carry out my public
service. I must add that I am pleased that so many of my high
school graduating class are with us today.
I acknowledge this honor with a deep sense of humility.
Representing Missourians is such a privilege, as I have had a
love affair with the State of Missouri all my life. Suffice
it to say that I will endeavor, in the days and years ahead,
to merit this high honor.
This day opens a notable chapter in the history of Ray and
Lafayette Counties, and in the history of our State. The
taxpayers generously paid for the bridge and the surrounding
roads, with the politicians and government officials setting
aside the money--almost $53 million in Federal and State
funds for the bridge itself. But the achievement lies in the
skill of the designers, engineers, and laborers whose work
translated our dream of a new bridge into reality, providing
us with a safe way to travel and taking us into the future,
across the wide Missouri.
But because this is such a momentous day, it is appropriate
to look back and reflect on the previous chapters of our
history that led us to this place today. This is a bridge
over truly historic waters--the wide Missouri.
The river is central to the history of those who have lived
in this region. The Indians who lived along its banks
inspired the river's name. The word ``Missouri'' is believed
to have derived from the Indian word for ``canoe'', and the
Missouri Tribe were known as the ``people of the wooden
canoe.''
French trappers encountered the Missouri Indians in the
late 1600s in present day Saline County. Another native
group, the Little Osage, lived in this area during the 1700s.
Scholars say that both tribes used the river for
transportation and trade with the Europeans.
In addition to the heritage of the Indians who made their
home along the river, the legacy of the French trappers
endures. The names the French gave to the tributaries that
flow into the Missouri River still adorn our maps: Tabeau
Creek, the Lamine River, Chouteau Creek, and the Moreau
River.
After the fledgling United States of America purchased the
Louisiana territory, Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery
traveled these waters, following the river across the
continent. In fact, our new bridge is quite near the spot in
present-day Ray County where Lewis and Clark's party of
explorers made camp in June 1804.
Fifteen years later in 1819, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
expedition to explore the Missouri River and its tributaries
demonstrated the potential usefulness of the river for the
movement of goods, settlers, and troops. It also led to the
Corps' assignment to tame the river for navigation, removing
the treacherous snags that endangered boats and steamboats.
The Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham immortalized the
jolly flatboatmen who plied the waters of this river as the
frontier opened in the early to mid-1800s. The flatboatmen
were known for their songs, their chanties, including the
beautiful and haunting American folk song, Shenandoah. The
now-familiar boatmen's song, which told of a trader who loved
the daughter of Indian Chief Shenandoah, made its way down
the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to the American clipper
ships, and thus around the world.
In the years to come, steamboats made the river their home.
From about 1819 to 1881, steamboats paddled the river, taking
settlers west and carrying trade goods and merchandise.
Lexington became a major steamboat port, where manufactured
goods from St. Louis and other points east were unloaded, and
raw materials were loaded to travel down river.
Local shores witnessed one of the darkest days of the
steamboat era when the steamboat Saluda called on the Port of
Lexington in 1852. Encountering problems with the river's
current and heavy running ice, the Saluda's boilers exploded
and more than 200 passengers and crew perished.
During the War Between the States, steamboats carried
troops and acted as armed transports, patrolling the river
for Confederates attempting to cross the wide Missouri.
In the days before a bridge crossed the wide Missouri here,
ferries enjoyed brisk business. The first ferry was
established in 1819 by Lexington's founder, Gilead Rupe. Both
the steamboat and the ferry operations lost customers as
railroads began to lay their tracks throughout the west, but
the ferry business held on, providing river crossing services
until the opening of the bridge in 1925.
Attempts to bridge the river between Lafayette and Ray
Counties were made in 1889 and 1894, before what we now call
the ``old bridge'' was built across the wide Missouri.
Construction began in 1922, and the bridge opened on November
25, 1925. Even today, we can relate to the excitement and the
anticipation of those citizens who were anxious to use the
bridge for the first time.
As we dedicate the new bridge, we open a new chapter of our
history on the Missouri River. For almost 80 years, the old
bridge has served us faithfully. But after decades of
service, it didn't take an engineer to spot serious problems.
With portions of the old bridge floor falling through, and
the crumbling of the sides, and the rusting of the
superstructure, many have feared that our continued use of
the old bridge was an invitation to tragedy. The new bridge
comes none too soon.
The safety factor is the most immediate benefit of the new
bridge for those who cross the wide Missouri at this point.
Countless drivers have suffered from white knuckles on the
steering wheel every time they crossed the old span.
Safety comes first, but we cannot underestimate how
important modem and well-maintained roadways are for local
economic development. A bridge that meets modem standards
will enable companies and manufacturers to deliver and
receive the goods they need to conduct business. It will
allow farmers to safely transport agricultural goods. It will
allow residents and visitors alike to travel freely and
frequently.
This bridge symbolizes progress and that essential quality
of American optimism: faith in the future; belief in ongoing
prosperity; and our continuing effort to improve our country
that has allowed America to prosper.
For thousands of years, the river has been witness to
history. The new bridge will bear witness as those who cross
the wide Missouri follow this road and add new chapters to
the history of America.
Today, we celebrate. This achievement is a milestone for
our state of Missouri. When you cross the bridge over the
Missouri River, look down, and in your mind's eye, imagine
the boatmen of the early 1800s as they pole their flatboats
down the river toward the Port of St. Louis. And, if you
listen intently, you will hear them singing that chanty of
the day--
Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Away, you rolling river,
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Away, I'm bound away,
'Cross the wide Missouri.