Marcy Kaptur: “tonight I rise to commemorate the life of Andrew Burris, a professional carpenter by trade, who gave his life today in…”

“tonight I rise to commemorate the life of Andrew Burris, a professional carpenter by trade, who gave his life today in Toledo, Ohio, as he helped place the finishing touches on the largest Federal transportation project in Ohio's history. Burris suffered fatal injury as he worked to complete Interstate 280's new river crossing known as the Veterans Glass City Skyway that spans the Maumee River, the largest river flowing into the Great Lakes. At approximately 9:15 this morning, 36-year-old Andrew W. Burris, of Curtice, Ohio, fell to his death from a scaffolding on the north side of the bridge. He was a faithful and dedicated member of the Carpenters Union Local 1138. As a carpenter for nearly 10 years, his union brothers said Andrew loved his work and was an excellent carpenter. The new skyway replaces the last drawbridge left on our Nation's interstate system. The cable-stayed bridge will carry three lanes of traffic in each direction over the river extending from I-75 on the north end to Navarre Avenue on the south end. The surface of the roadway will reach about 130 feet above the center of the river. As our Nation builds forward, brick by brick, steel rod by steel rod, cement block by cement block, wood beam by wood beam, sometimes we forget the danger faced by the men and women skilled in these trades as they craft our monuments to civilization.”