Public Invited to Bridge Naming Ceremony for Fallen North Kingstown Soldier

A North Kingstown man and devoted soldier who died while serving the country in Iraq in 2005 will honored with a bridge in his name.

Rep. Doreen Costa has invited the public to a ceremony officially dedicating the bridge, which runs over Route 403 between West Davisville Road and Compass Circle, on Sept. 6 at 1 p.m.

The bridge will be named after Costa submitted a bill to rename the West Davisville Bridge after Second Lieutenant Matthew Coutu.

Coutu was killed on June 27, 2005 by small arms fire when his convoy was attacked in Baghdad.

He was 23.

“Losing a child is never easy. Donna has shown a great deal of courage and resilience in the years since her son’s death. Naming this bridge after Matthew is just one simple way for us as a community to remember him and his ultimate sacrifice,” Costa said.

Donna Coutu, Matthew Coutu’s mother, was welcomed to the House floor by Rep. Costa, when the bill was introduced.

The House and Senate approved the bill in unanimous votes.

The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Robert Craven Sr.

According to the bill, the new name would be the Second Lieutenant Matthew Coutu Memorial Bridge.

The bridge is numbered 100601 by the state Department of Transportation and was built in 2004 as part of a major infrastructure improvement project in the port of Quonset. It carries West Davisville Road over Route 403.

A tribute page for Coutu is hosted here: http://mattcoutu.com/

Coutu was considered a born leader and confident soldier as well as a mentor to younger cadets.

As a student, he received the George C. Marshall Award at UMaine, which is reserved for the top cadet at each university.

Coutu was assigned to the 64th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.