For many years, Russell Burton was a valuable member of the Montgomery City community, working as superintendent of the utility department, a volunteer fireman and serving on the Montgomery County Fair and R-II school boards.

Now, a highway is going to be named after him.

A five-mile portion of Highway 19 will be named the Russell Lee Burton Memorial Highway in honor of the longtime Montgomery County resident, who died on Oct. 16 in a motorcycle accident near New Florence. A bill signing was held on July 1 at the State Capitol in Jefferson City with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, State Rep. Jeff Porter and Gary Leu – a cousin of Burton – in attendance.

“It was very memorable,” Leu said. “They did a really nice job. There were several more over there (at the state capitol) with highway namings. It was the last bill the governor signed for the year. Jeff Porter gave a short message about Russell and what he did to the county. He kept it short, but he was very informative. I grew up with him and his brother, so we’ve always been very close.”

The highway will start on Kimmich Road, which is three miles north of Interstate 70. It will end on Strube Road, located two miles south of the interstate.

“I had a constituent named Rod Sturgeon,” Porter said. “He reached out to me with other people behind him like Dorsey Stotler, Steve Deves, Linda Block and various people. He said, ‘Hey, would it be possible to name something after Russell after his incident on the intersection of I-70 and Highway 19?’ So I basically went through the naming process.”

Porter said signs will be built along the highway within the next 8-12 months. Parson signed the bill, which will go into effect in late August.

“I feel honored and blessed that we’ve got this passed,” Porter said.

Leu was the only family member who attended the bill signing.

“I was glad that I was there,” Leu said. “I was glad that I got a chance to go. I’m thankful that Jeff was instrumental in getting this started. The family and friends raised the money to support the project. It was not free. It is required that they have to pay the state for the signage and all of that.”

Porter said he tried to invite as many family members as he could to the bill signing.

“It came up pretty quick,” Porter said. “Gary was able to make it. Everyone else had issues with work, which I understood. But when the governor is ready to sign stuff, you only have 48 hours to make plans.”

Burton, who was living in New Haven, graduated from Montgomery County High School in 1970. He worked for the City of Montgomery for 35 years.

“Russell took over the city water and sewer (division),” Leu said. “They were pretty antiquated. They made tremendous progress with his leadership and expertise. They upgraded the sewer and water system in Montgomery City. He was quite instrumental in that. He never said no. When someone needed something, he was there for them.”