Section 2. Petty Officer Thomas Johnson Memorial Highway.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) On the morning of April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher began a deep diving test about 200 miles to the east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with the submarine rescue ship USS Skylark standing by overhead.
(2) The USS Thresher was less than two years old and was the lead boat in a new class of nuclear powered, fast attack submarines designed to be a weapon of deterrence at the height of the Cold War and was considered the most advanced naval vessel of its time.
(3) At 9:03 a.m., the USS Skylark received a garbled transmission over the underwater telephone reporting that the USS Thresher was experiencing minor difficulties.
(4) The USS Thresher and the 129 men it carried, including 17 civilians, never returned to the surface.
(5) The loss of the USS Thresher is one of the worst submarine disasters the world has ever known.
(6) After the tragedy, the Navy created SUBSAFE, a safety program that has ensured that no submarine passing through this process ever suffers a similar fate.
(7) Petty Officer Thomas Johnson was aboard the USS Thresher that day and sacrificed his life in service to his country.
(b) Designation.--The section of State Route 2014 in Lycoming County from Foresman Street in the city of Williamsport to State Route 220 in Woodward Township is hereby designated the Petty Officer Thomas Johnson Memorial Highway.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the highway to traffic in both directions on the highway.