On Saturday, November 16 the Martin County Board of County Commissioners and its partners hosted a public dedication event for the Veterans Memorial Bridge linking Stuart and Palm City, Florida.   The ceremony included a presentation of colors by a local post of the VFW Honor Guard, a performance by Martin County High School’s OPUS chorale, and remarks from dignitaries including the Honorable Congressman Patrick Murphy and State Rep. Gayle Harrell as well as representatives of the Federal Highway Administration and Florida Department of Transportation.

Veterans Memorial Bridge Dedication - Halpatiokee DAR Perticipation-dar

One of the first groups to cross the new Veterans Memorial Bridge were members of Halpatiokee Chapter NSDAR. Left to right: LynnAnn White, Carol Goulding, Lynne Jensen, Colleen Kimball, Elizabeth Cobb, Margaret Gray and Esther Twitchell.  Halpatiokee’s American flag and our Betsy Ross American flag were used on stage for the dedication ceremony. Members handed out over 450 stick flags to those present.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge was first recognized as a need locally in 1965 and has been part of the County’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan for over 25 years and  was one of Florida’s largest funding recipients under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.