State Sen. Anthony Portantino has authored a resolution to name a stretch of the 134 Freeway between Eagle Rock and Pasadena after former President Barack Obama.
On Monday the State Senate approved the resolution 35-1, so now it moves to the Assembly for approval. If the Assembly approves it, it then goes to Governor Brown's desk for his signature.
Portantino, a democrat from La Cañada-Flintridge said:
“I am very pleased this freeway naming is gaining such support in the Senate. President Obama deserves recognition for his years of traveling this freeway and his years of dedication to our state and to all Americans as a popular and successful president.”
A number of Republican senators supported the resolution:
- Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Hills
- Tom Berryhill, R-Fresno
- Anthony Cannella, R-Merced
- Ted Gaines, R-Granite Bay
- John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa
- Janet Nguyen, R-Garden Grove
- Jim Nielsen, R-Yuba City
- Jeff Stone, R-Indio
Sen. Joel Anderson from El Cajon was the only Republican to cast a "no" vote.
If this thing gets approved, and it most likely will, Caltrans will erect a sign between the 2 Freeway and the 210 Freeway declaring that stretch of the 134 the “President Barack H. Obama Freeway.”
The section of the freeway is just north of Occidental College in Eagle Rock where Obama went to school from 1979 to 1981.