Three distinguished American engineers have been selected for induction into the highest place of honor in the transportation design and construction industry: the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Foundation’s “Transportation Development Hall of Fame.”
Launched in 2010, the Hall honors individuals or families from the public and private sectors who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. transportation development during their careers.
A committee of judges comprised of construction industry journalists reviewed the nominees and selected:
• James L. Lammie, former president and chief executive officer of Parsons Brinckerhoff;
• Enoch Needles, a founding partner in HNTB Corporation; and
• W. Denney Pate, senior vice president and principal bridge engineer at FIGG.
Nominees were considered in two categories.
Transportation Design & Construction Industry Leaders (Individuals or Families)
This category honors men, women and families who have made significant contributions — beyond just having successful businesses or careers — that have notably helped advance the interests and image of the transportation design, construction and safety industry.
James L. Lammie
Jim Lammie has a saying: “You don’t sit still. You either go forward or backward.”
During a career that spanned more than 50 years, Lammie continually moved forward. He spent 30 years at Parsons Brinckerhoff and was president and CEO from 1990 to 1996.
He was a key player in major transit development projects, including: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Pittsburgh’s light rail system, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit, the Los Angeles Metro Blue and Red lines, Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel project and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Philadelphia elevated rapid transit line.
Lammie helped turn Parsons Brinckerhoff into a global company, doubling its revenue and number of employees. He spearheaded development of programs to encourage young people, women and minorities to pursue careers in engineering and construction, and was a long-time leader in more than a half dozen national industry organizations.
Enoch Needles, 1888-1972
Colonel Enoch Ray Needles had a prolific engineering career that spanned 45 years and took him from the halls of Congress to the job sites of some of America’s landmark infrastructure projects.
His legacy lives on as a founding partner in HNTB, today one of the nation’s largest engineering and architecture firms. Needles spearheaded the post World War II development of turnpikes and bridges in Maine, New Jersey, Florida, Missouri, Illinois and Delaware. He testified before Congress on transportation issues and was a distinguished leader in pushing for passage of the landmark 1956 law creating the Interstate Highway System.
His voluntary service to the industry is legendary, having been the chief elected officer of four advocacy groups: the American Institute of Consulting Engineers, American Road Builders Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, and Engineers Joint Council.
Transportation Design & Construction Industry Innovators
This category honors the men and women who discovered or created a “game changing” product or process that significantly advanced transportation design, construction and/or safety. It seeks to honor the original innovator.
W. Denney Pate
Denney Pate wanted to design bridges since he was eight years old growing up in north Alabama. He graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Auburn University and bridges have been his passion during his 31 year career at Florida-headquartered FIGG.
His experience on more than 30 cable-stayed bridge designs led him to create a revolutionary cradle system that significantly improves the service life of a bridge and reduces initial construction costs.
The cable-stay cradle system uses individual sleeves to carry strands through the pylon, allowing the strands to act independently. As a result, engineers can monitor individual strands and swap them out without closing the bridge, greatly improving ease of inspection and long-term maintenance. The system has been installed on bridges around the country and become a model for other major spans.
The 2011 and 2010 classes were inducted Sept. 7 during a gala dinner at ARTBA’s TransOvation Workshop, held at the Lansdowne Resort & Conference Center in Leesburg, Va.
Inductees from the inaugural 2010 class included: Bob Burleson, Florida Transportation Builders’ Association, the Lanford Family of Roanoke, Va., and the late Philip Koehring, founder of the Koehring Machine Company in Milwaukee, Wis.
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