A stretch of Highway 11 between Skiatook and Avant now carries a special meaning for one Oklahoma family.A 2.5-mile section of the highway has officially been renamed the Justin Lambillotte Memorial Highway, honoring an Army vet eran who died at Fort Hood in 2022.For his mother, Michelle Atkins, the new signs are a bittersweet reminder of the son she lost."It brings a smile to you, but it also brought a lot of tears," Atkins said.Atkins says they chose this stretch of road because of the memories it holds."Justin traveled this road. He learned to drive on this road and the country roads around us," Atkins said. "Bird Creek's right behind us, and he knew Bird Creek like the back of his hand.""It's very rewarding to see, but knowing why we have a sign is very difficult," Atkins added. "It took about a year, but it's worth the wait."In 2025, 2 News shared the Lambillotte family's efforts to build a veterans park in Skiatook.The project grew out of their desire to create a place where veterans could gather, find support and be celebrated."It took a tragedy for us to notice that our veterans deserve a place to go that is happy," Atkins said.The family still has work to do before construction can begin.Atkins says they need a little more than $120,000 for engineering costs to develop the blueprints required to apply for grants."We just need help. We can write grants to help fund the park, but we need the blueprints in place for the grants," she said.As for the signs along the newly named Justin Lambillotte Memorial Highway, Atkins hopes they'll take a moment to remember the veteran behind the sign."When you see the ones anywhere, you're reading it, just say their name," she said.If you'd like to donate in support of the Skiatook veterans park, you can do so here. ...read more read less