Highway Plans Honouring Nelson Abandoned

LATEST: Plans to name a stretch of road after Willie Nelson have been abandoned, following a battle between rival Texas politicians.

A state legislator had proposed naming a stretch of Texas Highway 130, part of the Central Texas Turnpike Project, in honour of the country music singer.

But two senators objected, saying they didn't want the sections of the road that run through their districts named after Nelson.

State Senator GONZALO BARRIENTOS agreed to pull Nelson's name from those sections, then withdrew the entire bill last week (ends29APR05).

And it has now been revealed that Nelson wasn't particularly enthusiastic to have the road named after him in the first place.

In a letter to Barrientos dated 13 April (05), JOEL KATZ, a lawyer for Nelson, said the singer was honoured by Barrientos' initiative, but added, "Willie simply does not feel that the naming of a toll road in his honour comports with his world view on either a personal or an artistic level."