Pennsylvania Act 2005-6 — MICHAEL A. CANNAVINO WAY - DESIGNATION

Act text

AN ACT

Designating a portion of a State route in the City of Erie as Michael A. Cannavino Way; redesignating the Carey Avenue Bridge between Larksville Borough and Hanover Township, Luzerne County, as the 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery, PA Army National Guard Bridge; and designating the portion of State Route 28 in Etna Borough and Shaler Township in Allegheny County as the 28th Signal Battalion Memorial Highway.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Michael A. Cannavino Way.

(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

(1) Michael A. Cannavino was a popular and beloved member of Erie City Council known for his outgoing personality and political acumen.

(2) This former star athlete with a football scholarship to Yale University became a tireless supporter and promoter of baseball, including Erie's minor league team, the Sailors, after his hopes to play professionally were dashed when he tragically lost his leg in a car accident in 1929.

(3) Michael A. Cannavino became a political legend in the City of Erie when, after winning a hard-fought victory in the 1965 Democratic mayoral primary, he died just days before his much anticipated win in the General Election and cleared the way for his primary opponent, Lou Tullio, to recapture the nomination, win the election and ultimately serve 24 years as mayor, longer than any other in Erie history.

(4) In recognition of his contributions to the Erie City Council and the greater Erie community, Glenwood Field was renamed Cannavino Field in his honor and held that name until its razing.

(5) Today a portion of the newly realigned State Route 4016 known as West 38th Street in the City of Erie passes very near where the Cannavino Field was once located.

(b) Designation.--The portion of State Route 4016 known as West 38th Street in the City of Erie, from Glenwood Park Avenue to Peach Street, is designated Michael A. Cannavino Way.

(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain signs at both ends of the roadway designated in subsection (b).

Section 2. Redesignating the Carey Avenue Bridge as the 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery, PA Army National Guard Bridge.

(a) Redesignation.--The bridge on State Route 2005 over the Susquehanna River between Larksville Borough and Hanover Township, Luzerne County, known as the Carey Avenue Bridge, is redesignated as the 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery, PA Army National Guard Bridge.

(b) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the bridge redesignated in subsection (a) at each end of the bridge.

Section 3. 28th Signal Battalion Memorial Highway.

(a) Findings.--The 28th Signal Battalion of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard is among the oldest continuously serving Signal Battalions in the Signal Corps. On September 12, 1908, the former Company G, 2nd Regiment United Boys Brigade of America, which was started in 1901, became Field Company A, Signal Corps Pennsylvania National Guard, with Fred G. Miller as its first company commander. The unit was activated for service on the Mexican border in 1916, in England and France in 1918, during World War II in Europe and during the Korean Conflict and in Germany in 1950. On June 1, 1959, the unit was expanded, reorganized and rededicated as the 28th Signal Battalion, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2003 the 28th Signal Battalion was alerted for deployment to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, with troops arriving in Iraq in the spring of 2004 and returning to the United States in the spring of 2005.

(b) Designation.--The portion of State Route 28 in Etna Borough and Shaler Township in Allegheny County is hereby designated as the 28th Signal Battalion Memorial Highway.

(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the highway under subsection (b) to traffic in both directions.

Section 4. Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.