NASA Causeway likely to be named the Sally Ride Memorial Bridge

Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today
·2 min read
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An astronaut who broke barriers and made history may see her legacy written into law and her name ascribed to an important Brevard County causeway if local lawmakers can have their way.

NASA Causeway, the bridge that connects the mainland to the barrier islands in North Brevard near the space center, could be renamed to Sally Ride Memorial Bridge when it is rebuilt under a new state law being sponsored by state Rep. Tyler Sirois (R-Merritt Island) and championed by the Brevard County Commission.

Construction on the NASA Causeway bridge has been ongoing to replace it with a newly constructed bridge spanning 4,025 feet over the Indian River Lagoon. Construction on the two new bridges forming the east- and westbound lanes of the causeway is expected to be completed by 2025.

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Construction continues on new NASA Causeway bridge over the Indian River. The new bridge will have 4,025-foot-long spans.
Construction continues on new NASA Causeway bridge over the Indian River. The new bridge will have 4,025-foot-long spans.

Renaming the bridge under Florida state law would be a way to honor the first woman in space, astronaut Sally Ride who flew on the maiden voyage of the shuttle Challenger in 1983 and worked on another mission in 1984, spending 343 hours--or just over two weeks total--in space during her career as an astronaut. Ride was the only woman in her physics program as an undergrad and went on to earn her doctorate in physics from Stanford University. She retired from NASA in 1987 and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2003, before passing away in 2012 at the age of 61 years old.

Rep. Sirois filed the bill for the bridge's naming in December of last year and it has since gone on to a transportation subcommittee in the Florida House of Representatives with the goal of making the causeway's new name official by July 1 of this year. On Tuesday night, Brevard County Commission voted in favor of signing a letter of support for the renaming effort in the Florida House.

Construction continues on new NASA Causeway bridge over the Indian River. The new bridge will have 4,025-foot-long spans. View of the bridge from the Space Bar at the Courtyard KSC.
Construction continues on new NASA Causeway bridge over the Indian River. The new bridge will have 4,025-foot-long spans. View of the bridge from the Space Bar at the Courtyard KSC.

Under the bill, the Florida Department of Transportation would be directed to erect suitable markers along the bridge, indicating the bridge is named in Ride's honor.

The bill, House Bill 21, now is in the House Transportation and Modals Subcommittee for consideration. It also would be considered by the House Infrastructure and Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee and by the House Infrastructue Strategies Committee.

Sirois said he asked Brevard County Commision Vice Chair Rita Pritchett, who represents north Brevard, to bring the issue before the County Commision, to demonstrate that there is local support for the name designation.

Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Sally Ride Memorial Bridge name change supported by Brevard commission