MOUNTAIN IRON — The Minnesota Department of Transportation installed signage recognizing the Senator David J. Tomassoni Memorial Cross Range Expressway.
The section of Highway 169, named in honor of the late state Sen. Tomassoni from Chisholm, runs between Itasca County Road 69 in Marble and St. Louis County Road 7 in Mountain Iron.
The Minnesota State Legislature passed bills to designate the section in May 2024.
Tomassoni made safe roads and transportation a priority in his three decades of service in the Legislature.
After passing the designation of the highway section, the senator's colleagues said the longtime plan to expand the road from two lanes to four was thanks to his determination.
Tomassoni was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1993, then the Senate in 2000.
He served until months before his death in August 2022, about one year after he announced he had been diagnosed with ALS.
