House Passes Resolution To Rename Tuscaloosa Bridge After Stan Pate's Father

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday officially passed a resolution to rename a Tuscaloosa bridge after the late father of developer Stan Pate.

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The measure saw no vocal opposition in the House and will now head to the desk of Gov. Kay Ivey to be signed into law.

As Patch previously reported, the resolution — sponsored by State Sen. Gerald Allen, a Republican from Tuscaloosa — aims to rename the Interstate 20/59 bridge that spans McFarland Boulevard to the Luther Stancel Pate III Memorial Bridge.

This is the bridge with red ALDOT arches and can be seen from the former McFarland Mall property, which is owned by Pate.

Luther Pate III, a native of Buhl, was killed in a vehicle accident at Rice Mine Road and McFarland Boulevard on June 14, 1968. As Patch documented in an exhaustive four-part profile series on Pate, this proved to be one of the most crucial formative experiences for the developer.

"When you're almost 10 years old, you love your parents and looking back on my Dad every time that I talk about him in a situation like this, I smile," Pate told Patch in March. "You're looking at it through the perspective of 10-year-old eyes. Good dads, they walk on water, and mine did in my eyes and still does."

Pate has also insisted on multiple occasions that the idea of renaming the bridge for his father did not originate with him, but from Sen. Allen. However, Pate has supported the measure and said honoring his father would be a great way to also honor all of the blue-collar workers in Tuscaloosa who often go unnoticed and unappreciated.

The measure has been vocally opposed by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, with some in the business community signing off on a resolution demanding members of the local legislative delegation support efforts to develop transparent and inclusive processes for naming public infrastructure, including an approach geared toward involving community members from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

As Patch previously reported, the Chamber resolution does not mention Pate or anyone else by time, it did come just a couple of day after its Public Affairs Committee meeting on Tuesday. At one point during the meeting, Allen is reported to have publicly apologized for not communicating with his elected colleagues before moving the resolution through the Senate.

Chamber also said it will advocate for the incorporation of community input into the decision-making process for the naming of public infrastructure and will collaborate with local elected bodies and the West Alabama legislative delegation to ensure that community input is valued and respected.

Pate declined to comment on the measure when contacted by Patch.

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