The nation’s longest road, Route 20, which begins in Kenmore Square in Boston and stretches to the coast of Oregon, could soon get another special designation.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers, have sponsored a bill to rename U.S. 20 as the “National Medal of Honor Highway,” a tribute to U.S. veterans who have received the nation’s highest military award.
The 3,365-mile road runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, connecting Boston to Newport, Oregon and passes through 12 states: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Oregon.
In 2016, highway officials in Massachusetts, and Oregon placed signs at the east and west ends of the road, marking it as the longest continuous highway in the U.S.
The highway has already been designated in honor of Medal of Honor recipients in Oregon and every state on the route has passed similar measures. The plan is to honor all of the 3,515 recipients of the Medal of Honor and all future recipients.
The bill was introduced in the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on May 9 and is awaiting a hearing.
Two signs in Boston, MA and Newport, OR mark the ends of the longest highway in the United States.#boston #newportoregon pic.twitter.com/b6BOyhYZqm
— Historic US Route20 (@HistoricRoute20) June 13, 2020