Jason R. Workman Memorial Bridge

Last updated

The Jason R. Workman Memorial Bridge brings U.S. Route 163 over the San Juan River near Mexican Hat, Utah. It is a picturesque arch bridge, built in 1953. [1]

In 2016 the U.S. Route 163 (US 163) bridge crossing the San Juan River on the south border of the town was renamed to be the Jason R. Workman Memorial Bridge after a member of SEAL Team Six who was killed in action in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. Workman was a 1997 graduate of the nearby San Juan High School. [2] The renaming was a Utah legislative action, and became official after Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed the bill. [2]

Workman was killed, along with 37 others, when a Chinook helicopter transporting Seal Team Six was shot down on August 6, 2011, on its way to aid in an intense firefight, in the war in Afghanistan. [3] Workman's remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was age 32, and had a wife and a son. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan County, Utah</span> County in Utah, United States

San Juan County is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,518. Its county seat is Monticello, while its most populous city is Blanding. The Utah State Legislature named the county for the San Juan River, itself named by Spanish explorers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Hat, Utah</span> Human settlement in Utah, USA

Mexican Hat is a census-designated place (CDP) in Utah in the United States. It is on the San Juan River on the northern edge of the Navajo Nation's borders in south-central San Juan County. The population was 31 in the 2010 census, a sharp decline from the previous two censuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)</span> US Army helicopter unit

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR(A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. Its missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and these missions are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Corners</span> Only region in the United States where four states share a boundary point

Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners region belongs to semi-autonomous Native American nations, the largest of which is the Navajo Nation, followed by Hopi, Ute, and Zuni tribal reserves and nations. The Four Corners region is part of a larger region known as the Colorado Plateau and is mostly rural, rugged, and arid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan River (Colorado River tributary)</span> River in Utah, United States

The San Juan River is a major tributary of the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States, providing the chief drainage for the Four Corners region of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Originating as snowmelt in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, it flows 383 miles (616 km) through the deserts of northern New Mexico and southeastern Utah to join the Colorado River at Glen Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guadalupe River (California)</span> River in Santa Clara County, California, United States

The Guadalupe River mainstem is an urban, northward flowing 14 miles (23 km) river in California whose much longer headwater creeks originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The river mainstem now begins on the Santa Clara Valley floor when Los Alamitos Creek exits Lake Almaden and joins Guadalupe Creek just downstream of Coleman Road in San Jose, California. From here it flows north through San Jose, where it receives Los Gatos Creek, a major tributary. The Guadalupe River serves as the eastern boundary of the City of Santa Clara and the western boundary of Alviso, and after coursing through San José, it empties into south San Francisco Bay at the Alviso Slough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 163</span> Highway in Arizona and Utah

U.S. Route 163 is a 64-mile (103 km) U.S. Highway that runs from US 160 northward to US 191 in the U.S. states of Arizona and Utah. The southernmost 44 miles (71 km) of its length are within the Navajo Nation. The highway forms part of the Trail of the Ancients, a National Scenic Byway. The highway cuts through the heart of Monument Valley and has been featured in numerous movies and commercials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 191</span> Numbered Highway in the United States

U.S. Route 191 is a north–south highway in the Western United States and a spur of parent route U.S. Route 91 that has two segments. The southern segment runs for 1,102 miles (1,773 km) from Douglas, Arizona on the Mexican border to the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. The northern segment runs for 442 miles (711 km) from the northern part of Yellowstone National Park to Loring, Montana, at the Canada–US border. Unnumbered roads within Yellowstone National Park connect the two segments. The highway passes through the states of Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Davis Highway</span> Historic long-distance highway in the United States

The Jefferson Davis Highway, also known as the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, was a transcontinental highway in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s that began in Arlington County, Virginia, and extended south and west to San Diego, California; it was named for Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, United States senator, and Secretary of War. Because of unintended conflict between the National Auto Trail movement and the federal government, it is unclear whether it ever really existed in the complete form that its United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) founders originally intended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Spanish Trail (trade route)</span> Part of the U.S. National Trails System

The Old Spanish Trail is a historical trade route that connected the northern New Mexico settlements of Santa Fe, New Mexico with those of Los Angeles, California and southern California. Approximately 700 mi (1,100 km) long, the trail ran through areas of high mountains, arid deserts, and deep canyons. It is considered one of the most arduous of all trade routes ever established in the United States. Explored, in part, by Spanish explorers as early as the late 16th century, the trail was extensively used by traders with pack trains from about 1830 until the mid-1850s. The area was part of Mexico from Mexican independence in 1821 to the Mexican Cession to the United States in 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Route 261</span> State highway in Utah, United States

State Route 261 is a state highway located entirely within south-central San Juan County, Utah. It runs 34 miles (55 km) north, from the junction of U.S. Route 163, to the junction with State Route 95, just east of Natural Bridges National Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar Mesa</span> Plateau in southeastern Utah

Cedar Mesa is a tableland in San Juan County in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It extends from Elk Ridge in the north, Comb Wash to the east, the gorge of the San Juan River to the south, and Grand Gulch to the west, an area of over 400 square miles (1,000 km2). The center of the mesa is located at approximately 37°26'N and 109°55'W, at an elevation of 6,500 feet (2,000 m). The surrounding terrain has a typical elevation of just 4,200 feet (1,300 m) Most of Cedar Mesa is included in the newly declared (2016) Bears Ears National Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Nevills</span> American businessman (1908–1949)

Norman D. Nevills was a pioneer of commercial river-running in the American Southwest, particularly the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. He led trips including Dr. Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, the first two women to successfully float the Grand Canyon, and Barry Goldwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 191 in Utah</span> Section of U.S. Highway in Utah, United States

U.S. Route 191 (US-191) is a major 404.168-mile (650.445 km), north–south U.S. Numbered Highway through eastern Utah, United States. The present alignment of US-191, which stretches from Mexico to Canada, was created in 1981 through Utah. Previously the route had entered northern Utah, ending at US-91 in Brigham City, but with the completion of I-15 it was truncated to Yellowstone National Park and re-extended on a completely different alignment. In addition to a large portion of US-163, this extension absorbed several state routes: SR-33, most of SR-44, and SR-260.

Between 7 October 2001 and 30 August 2021, the United States lost a total of 2,459 military personnel in Afghanistan. Of this figure, 1,922 had been killed in action. An additional 20,769 were wounded in action. 18 operatives of the Central Intelligence Agency were also killed during the conflict. Further, there were 1,822 civilian contractor fatalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley of the Gods</span> Sandstone basin in Utah, United States

The Valley of the Gods is a scenic sandstone valley near Mexican Hat in San Juan County, southeastern Utah, United States. Part of Bears Ears National Monument, the Valley of the Gods is located north of Monument Valley across the San Juan River and has rock formations similar to those in Monument Valley with tall, reddish brown mesas, buttes, towers and mushroom rocks, remnants of an ancient landscape. On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that reduced the area of Bears Ears National Monument, proclaimed by President Barack Obama on December 28, 2016, with new monument boundaries that exclude the Valley of the Gods. The area remains protected public land administered as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, as it was before the monument designation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Route 162</span> State highway in San Juan County, Utah, US

State Route 162 (SR-162) is a state highway located in San Juan County, Utah, United States. It begins at US-191 east of Bluff. It then follows the former alignment of SR-163 to Montezuma Creek. There, it intersects UT-262 at its southern terminus. Afterwards, it follows SR-262's former alignment past Aneth to the Colorado state line. Colorado State Highway 41 takes over in the Centennial State, ending at a junction with US-160 6 miles east of the Four Corners Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trail of the Ancients</span> National Scenic Byways in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, United States

The Trail of the Ancients is a collection of National Scenic Byways located in the U.S. Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. These byways comprise:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown</span> Attack on a U.S. military helicopter in Tangi Valley, Maidan Wardak Province

On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 was shot down while transporting a Quick Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Axelson</span> Recipient of the Navy Cross

Matthew Gene "Axe" Axelson was an enlisted United States Navy SEAL who was awarded the U.S. Navy's second highest decoration, the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart, for his actions during the War in Afghanistan. Serving as a sniper in the operation, Axelson was killed in action during the firefight phase of Operation Red Wings.

References

  1. "Mexican Hat - A Tale of Two Bridges". June 6, 2015. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "San Juan River Bridge renamed to honor fallen hero". April 5, 2016. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  3. "ARMY AIR CREWS: CH-47 Chinook Crewmembers Line of Duty Deaths". www.armyaircrews.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.