Virginia's Highway 53 Bridge Could Be Named After Rukavina

Tommy Rukavina passed away last month, leaving behind a legacy of fighting for the Iron Range. Now legislatures have proposed a bill that would honor his life by naming the recently constructed bridge connecting Virginia and Eveleth. The bill would also including 5.4 million dollars to cover the shortfall from funding issues with the state.

According to the Mesabi Daily News, House Representative Dave Lislegard of Aurora and House Transportation Chief Frank Hornstein introduced the bill on Thursday to dedicate the bridge and provide funding. When the bridge project for utilities ran out of funding, the City of Virginia was hit with the bill that they needed to cover with reserves and raising utility costs for it's residents. This bill would aim to right that funding shortfall.

Here's a short video I took of driving across the bridge right after it opened last year.