Proposal to rename I-496 for Dennis Rodeman draws protests
LANSING - A fallen Lansing firefighter and a pioneer who helped build the city's automotive legacy.
The state will allow Dennis Rodeman or Ransom E. Olds to be memorialized on Interstate 496 in Lansing, but not both men, officials said. State House Bill 5006 would change the memorial designation of I-496 in the city's limits from the Olds Freeway to the Lansing Firefighter Dennis E. Rodeman Memorial Freeway.The bill sits in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The Olds name is critical to General Motors Co. retirees and Lansing's automotive heritage, GM retiree Daniel Thelen said. Thelen, president of the GM Lansing Salaried Retirees Club, said the Olds name took a major hit when GM's Oldsmobile division folded in 2004.
"Oldsmobile has been here for over 100 years. That was the mainstay that was the foundation of the this city," Thelen said. "We’ve got to preserve that name.”
Bill sponsor Tom Cochran, D-Mason, said he's received numerous calls from constituents, with as many if not more callers supporting the name change. The highway was dedicated to Olds in the 1970s.
Lansing firefighter Steve Babcock said Rodeman's sacrifice decades after Olds' death calls for changing the designation. He joins Cochran, a former Lansing fire chief who hired Rodeman, in supporting the change.
"Personally I think it would be a great thing," Babcock said. "I think it has true merit."
Olds was founder of Olds Motor Works and REO Motor Co. and the namesake of the Oldsmobile. Rodeman was killed Sept. 9 after he was hit by a pickup truck while collecting donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in south Lansing.
Cochran said he hoped to honor both men on the highway, but learned the state will only allow one designation. He said he proposed a highway designation for Rodeman because it wouldn't require address changes.
"While I appreciate what Mr. Olds has done for Lansing, this is one way we could honor Dennis," Cochran said. "This was no disrespect to Mr. Olds or his family."
Contact Christopher Behnan at (517) 377-1261 or cbehnan@lsj.com . Follow him on Twitter@LansingCB.