Rte. 72 extension to be named after late Press publisher - The Bristol Press (bristolpress.com)

Rte. 72 extension to be named after late Press publisher - The Bristol Press (bristolpress.com): Rte. 72 extension to be named after late Press publisher
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 10:46 PM EST
By Steve Collins
Staff Writer
BRISTOL — For decades, former Bristol Press Publisher Bart Barnes pushed, prodded and poked those in power to get a highway that would connect Bristol to the interstate system to the east and Thomaston to the west.

Though he lived a long time — 96 active years — he never saw it happen.

“That was probably his greatest disappointment,” Donald Selina, former general manager of the paper, said shortly after Barnes’ death in 2004.

Now, though, the new Route 72 extension from Plainville to Middle Street — a truncated version of the roadway that Barnes sought — will carry his name.