Smokey Park Highway Bridge renamed Capt. Jeff Bowen Bridge

At a ceremony in the Westgate shopping center parking lot adjacent to Smokey Park Highway, the bridge over the French Broad River was officially re-named The Captain Jeff Bowen Bridge this morning, Aug. 15.

Bowen’s widow, Stacy Bowen and his mother Laurel Bowen pulled the black cloth covering off the sign to the applause of nearly 1,000 spectators, elected officials, firefighters and police officers.

Bowen was honored by Mayor Terry Bellamy, who remarked that “this bridge, named for one of our dedicated public servants, will stand as a reminder that we value our public employees, not just the ones who gave their all, but those who do their best every day.”

Bowen’s mother, Laurel, remembered her son, whom she said she “knew was looking down at this, saying, ‘okay, mom, get on with it’.” She thanked the thousands of people who signed the petition to reverse the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s initial opposition to the naming of the bridge, and the kindness of the people of Asheville and firefighters from all over in the year since her son’s death.

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