Rte. 16 Bridge Named For Former Senator David Locke

Former Sen. David Locke, 83, was a boy in the 1930s when he watched Admiral Richard Byrd travel under the Rte. 16 bridge on Rte. 9 on his way to an expedition to the Antarctic. 

He was also nearby when he and his classmates watched the Hindenberg airship travel overhead in 1937, on its way to a disastrous fate.

On Friday at 1 p.m., outside the Wellesley Community Center at 219 Washington St., the bridge visible across a small green square, he counted himself fortunate to have the structure named after him.

"I'm very pleased," Locke said. After all, in the normal course of events, the people whose names are attached to buildings and bridges don't normally get to see that happen, he said.

Locke was notified that he'd be receiving the honor months ago, but, of course, the bridge needed to be finished first. That didn't happen until just recently, he noted. He thanked Rep. Alice Peisch and everyone who had a hand in naming the bridge after him.

The event brought Selectman Chairman Katherine Babson, State Senator Richard Ross and U.S. Senator Scott Brown, who, along with about 100 people, honored the former senator. The weather was breezy and overcast, but it held, virtually unnoticed by smiling people eager to wish Locke well. 

The sentiment was not lost on the venerable politician. "It's a great honor for me to have this bridge named after me," he said. During his lifetime, all of it lived as a Wellesley resident, he said, "I've been over this bridge millions of times."

The event ended with a reception inside the Wellesley Community Center, hosted by the beaming WCC President Steve Peretti and Manager David Walsh.