Story by Jessica Boyer and Halie Cook
Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R- Santa Clarita, has introduced a bill to rename the Golden Valley Road Bridge over State Highway Route 14 in the city of Santa Clarita as the “Connie Worden-Roberts Memorial Bridge.”
Sponsored Articles
“Connie Worden-Roberts demonstrated extraordinary service to our community and she was known as the Santa Clarita Valley’s ‘Road Warrior’,” Wilk said, in a news release. “Connie was an early visionary and tireless advocate for the Golden Valley Road Bridge project, so it seemed appropriate to honor her legacy by naming this very special bridge after her.”
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 89 was introduced June 18 and was authored by Wilk and co-authored by Senator Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster.
“I know my mom would be deeply honored to be recognized in this way,” said Worden-Roberts’ son Leon Worden. “She gave a good part of her life to making sure our community had the infrastructure we needed as we grew. It’s why she helped create a city and it’s why she pushed to complete the cross-valley connector, even when it would have been a lot easier just to give up.”
Santa Clarita City Council members originally discussed the bridge naming in an April 2015 City Council meeting.
“I think this is a small thing to do for such a grand and great lady,” said Laurene Weste, a Santa Clarita City Councilmember. “We don’t want work to be forgotten and we want to draw attention to the history of how things were accomplished.”
Worden-Roberts gathered more than 2,000 of 24,000 signatures needed in a petition to the Los Angeles County Formation Commission for Santa Clarita to become a city.
“She really was a road warrior,” Weste said. “She fought to get improvements, to get funding, to get bridges that needed repairs and knew every aspect of transportation.”
Worden-Roberts championed the development of the valley’s transportation network for nearly four decades, according to the news release. She served as the vice-chair of the city of Santa Clarita Formation Committee and served on the city’s first planning commission.
Worden-Roberts also served as chairwoman of the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles County, founder of the Valley Industry Association, former chairwoman of the board and director of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce and as a member of many more community organizations, according to the news release.
“Connie Worden-Roberts fought courageously for issues important to the City of Santa Clarita for decades, working to make it one of the best places to live in the state,” said Senator Sharon Runner. “She gave her all to her community and deserves to have her contributions recognized. I am grateful I was able to learn from her and am thrilled to co-author ACR 89 with Assemblyman Wilk.”
Worden-Roberts died on August 12, 2014 at 83 years old.
“She was remarkable in every way and this is just a very small aspect,” Weste said. “Without her having been here not only would roadways have suffered, I’m not sure we would have been a city today.”
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.