TIVERTON/PORTSMOUTH — The Rhode Island Senate has approved legislation (2025-S 0591) sponsored by Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. that would rename the Sakonnet Bridge as the “Staff Sergeant Christopher Potts Sakonnet Bridge.”

Felag, who lives in Warren, is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Special Legislation and Veterans’ Affairs. The vote was unanimous — 38-0.

“Staff Sergeant Potts was a true American hero and his young life was tragically cut short at the age of 38 while he defended freedom and democracy abroad,” said Felag (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton). “Renaming the Sakonnet Bridge in his honor will serve as a fitting reminder of what our service members sacrifice in order to protect the ideals and freedoms that we deeply cherish. Staff Sergeant Potts was a beloved member of the community and I hope this recognition will make his family members proud of the valiant and dedicated life that he lived,” 

Potts, of Tiverton, served in the Rhode Island National Guard for over 14 years. He was assigned to Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 103rd Field Artillery Regiment, Army National Guard. He deployed to Iraq in March 2004 and was tragically killed during combat operations in Taji, Iraq, on Oct. 3, 2004, which was his birthday.

Potts was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V” and the Purple Heart. 

Other re-naming attempts

It’s not the first time lawmakers have wanted to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge. In 2009, former Democratic Rep. Amy Rice of Portsmouth wanted to name the bridge after Anne Hutchinson. Some residents consider Hutchinson the town’s Colonial founder, while others insist she had little to do with Portsmouth’s founding in 1638. 

Also in 2009, Rep. John G. Edwards, a Tiverton Democrat, rallied to have the bridge named after Potts. Edwards soon retooled the bill to call the bridge the “Veterans’ Memorial Sakonnet River Bridge,” for all the fallen soldiers of Portsmouth. 

Neither bill succeeded, nor did a 2011 resubmission by Edwards for the Veterans Memorial branding. The new bridge finally opened in 2012 under its original name: the Sakonnet River Bridge. 

The name “Sakonnet" comes from a Native American group connected to the Wampanoag people, who have inhabited present-day Eastern Rhode Island and Massachusetts for more than 12,000 years. It is believed to mean “where the water pours forth” or “mouth of the stream.” 

Felag’s bill now heads to the House for consideration, where House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Samuel A. Azzinaro (D-Dist. 37, Westerly) has introduced similar legislation (2025-H 5051).