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WilliaM d. alexaNder
1911–2003
elected in 1978
“For leadership in organizing complex multidisciplinary
engineering projects.”
By JaMes l. laMMie
W illiaM d. alexaNder died on december 9, 2003, at
Waccamaw community Hospital at Murrells inlet, North
carolina. Bill was elected to the National academy of
engineering in 1978 in recognition of his contributions to
design and construction management for major infrastructure
projects in the United states.
Bill was born on June 20, 1911, in charlotte, North carolina.
He graduated from central High school in charlotte. He then
attended Virginia Military institute, earning a bachelor of
science degree in chemistry in 1934. He later obtained a civil
engineering degree from North carolina state University in
1953. He was a registered professional engineer in 11 states.
after graduation in 1934, Bill worked as a consulting
engineer in High Point, North carolina, and Boise, idaho,
until being commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps
of engineers in 1940. Bill worked on projects, mostly heavy air
fields, in the United States and in the Philippines and Japan.
He transferred to the air force in 1953 and became chief of
engineering for far east operations and then moved to the air
force directorate of civil engineering, with responsibilities
for global air force installations, including early warning
projects such as sage (semi-automatic ground environment
system and the deWliNe (distant early Warning line).
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4 MeMorial TriBUTes
in 1958 he became chief of facilities design for the Usaf
Ballistic Missile division and was in charge of facility design
for the atlas, Titan, and Minuteman missile facilities. This
multibillion-dollar complex project, known collectively as
the intercontinental Ballistic Missile system, received the
outstanding civil engineering achievement award from the
american society of civil engineers in 1962. Bill retired from
the air force in 1962 with the rank of colonel.
in 1962, Bill became the project manager of a joint venture—
URSAM—composed of the firms Urbahn, Roberts, SSV&K, and
Mueser rutledge, to design launch complex 39 and Nasa’s
(National aeronautics and space administration’s) Vehicle
assembly Building on Merritt island at cape canaveral,
florida. The success of the apollo program and the record size
of the vehicle assembly building resulted in the project being
designated as the outstanding civil engineering achievement
for 1966 by the american society of civil engineers.
in 1964, Bill became a partner in and president of the
design firm SSVK (Seelye-Stevenson-Value and Knecht) of
New york city. in 1966 he became project director of the
DUSAF Joint Venture (DMJM, Urbahn, SSV&K, G. A. Fuller),
responsible for the design and construction of the fermi
National accelerator laboratory in Batavia, illinois. This 200-
BeV national accelerator won the american society of civil
engineers award of Merit as one of the top U.s. projects in
1972.
in 1975, Bill moved to atlanta and joined the staff of the
Metropolitan atlanta rapid Transit system, as MarTa’s
assistant general manager, directly responsible for the design
and construction of the multibillion-dollar atlanta transit system.
MARTA General Manager Allen Kiepper said, “I need a man
who has built big projects and managed large organizations
but more importantly one who has successfully built world-
class projects on time and on budget.” His leading candidate
was Bill alexander. Bill took immediate charge; restructured
his organization; renegotiated the contract with the general
engineering consultant; improved relations with the city,
railroads, and public utilities; and put the project back on
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WilliaM d. alexaNder
track. Bill also developed an excellent relationship and a high
degree of credibility with MarTa’s public Board of directors.
MarTa, a billion-dollar-plus project, was recognized as a
model of an on-time, on-budget system with a reputation for
fair dealings with contractors and an ability to find a way to
move ahead despite many obstacles. MarTa was recognized
in 1983 with an award of Merit as one of the outstanding civil
engineering projects of the year by the american society of
civil engineers.
after MarTa, Bill moved on to Houston to start up
the Houston Transit system, which he did with several
major design contracts that were awarded very quickly.
Unfortunately, political issues developed, and Bill then had to
terminate contracts that were already in progress, which he
did in a fair and an equitable fashion. He then served as an
individual consultant for denver, Hawaii, and other transit
systems and mega projects before fully retiring to Pawley’s
island, North carolina.
Bill was very active in the civil engineering profession. His
numerous articles appeared in Civil Engineering Magazine in
1962, 1965, and 1972; in Transactions of ASCE in 1966 and 1973;
and in Consulting Engineer in 1960. He testified on airstrip
paving materials before the House armed services committee
in 1957. Bill was a recognized authority on organization and
procedures for civil design and on the engineer’s role in
managing major projects, including construction. He lectured
extensively before professional societies and at the engineering
schools of many universities. His many organizational
affiliations permitted him to interact with other professionals,
who were able to learn from his experiences. He was a fellow
of the american society of civil engineers, chairman of its
aerospace Transportation division, and chair of its research
committee from 1966 to 1971. He was also a fellow of the
american consulting engineers council, a member of the
society of american Military engineers, and a member of the
Board of the civil engineering foundation. He was a member
of the Moles, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi, and North Carolina
state University’s engineering advisory council.
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6 MeMorial TriBUTes
Bill received the air force commendation Medal early
in his air force career and the legion of Merit in 1962.
Engineering News Record named him among “Men Who Made
Marks” in 1962, and he received the outstanding engineering
alumnus award from North carolina state University in
1976. He was designated civil engineer Member of the year
by the american society of civil engineers New york chapter
in 1967. Bill’s greatest recognition, though, was having his
major projects—the air force icBM system, the apollo space
launching facility, the fermi accelerator, and the MarTa
Transit system—all receive awards as outstanding projects for
their respective years.
For his many awards, Bill was described as a “creative engineer,
team organizer and leader, a manager of huge, sophisticated,
complex multidisciplinary engineering projects.” He was a man
with “an unusual ability to understand and manage complex
engineering systems and to provide leadership and motivation
for his management team.”
Mr. alexander was survived by his wife, alice; a son,
William d. alexander iV; and a grandson, adrian alexander.
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