The stretch of SR-247 from Allen Way to Camp Rock Road will be dedicated in honor of the late Sgt. Brian L. Walker next year, according to Assemblyman Jay Obernolte.
By Peter Day
Staff Writer
LUCERNE VALLEY — The newly named Sgt. Brian L. Walker Highway is expected to be formally dedicated in about a year, according to Assemblyman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia), sponsor of the recently approved Assembly Concurrent Resolution 180.
The dedication will come after supporters of the highway designation raise the remainder of the funds needed for highway signs and related costs, Obernolte said during a presentation at Tuesday’s meeting of the Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association. Patti Riddle, one of the local residents spearheading the drive, said that could come sooner as the Lucerne Valley community and others get behind the cause.
The stretch of State Route 247 from Allen Way to Camp Rock Road will be named in honor of Sgt. Walker, a Lucerne Valley resident who in May of 2012 was killed by a roadside bomb while serving as a military police officer in Afghanistan. He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
“Brian was a sweet, loving young man,” Riddle said.
Riddle and her husband Mark joined Sharon and Scott Fritz, who are both employed by County Service Area 29, in leading the highway dedication drive.
Obernolte based his time estimation on his office’s successful sponsorship of ACR 21, which designated a portion of State Highway Route 18 in the Running Springs area as the Rim of the World Veterans Memorial Highway. The highway designation, which was made official on July 1, 2015, begins at the intersection of State Highway Route 18 and State Highway Route 330 and continues toward Big Bear Lake for 4.5 miles. That highway dedication was on April 8, 2016, nine months following passage of the resolution.
Obernolte was joined by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and other elected officials in presiding over the dedication ceremony.