Part of highway to be renamed to honor Oso slide victims

An orange U.S. Coast Guard helicopter at upper right is dwarfed as it flies, Monday, March 31, 2014 by the face of the massive mudslide that hit the nearby community of Oso,Wash. on March 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A 23-mile (37-kilometer) stretch of Washington state's Highway 530 between Arlington and Darrington is getting renamed to honor and remember the 43 people who died in a landslide five years ago.

The Daily Herald reports it will be known as the "Oso Slide Memorial Highway" after the Washington State Transportation Commission unanimously approved a resolution renaming it this week.

The renamed stretch will be between mileposts 22 and 45 with signs inscribed with Oso Slide Memorial Highway. The signs will bear the date and time of the slide and the number "43."

The signs and a sculpture of the mailboxes that once served as a landmark to turn off the highway into the Steelhead Haven neighborhood may be ready for an unveiling at a commemorative event next month.

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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com

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