Jacob Dekema dead at the age of 101

[andy3175]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/sd-me-dekema-obit-20170505-story.html

Jacob Dekema, who oversaw most of county's freeway construction, dead at 101

The man who oversaw construction of nearly all of San Diego County's freeway system has died.

Jacob Dekema died last month in his sleep from natural causes at an assisted living facility in La Jolla, and his family announced the passing this week. He was 101.

Known affectionately as "Mr. Caltrans,"  he designed the region's intricate network of highways and connectors, an accomplishment often cited as helping to inspire the nation's interstate-highway system.

Mr. Dekema headed up Caltrans District 11 from 1955 to 1980. During that time, he ushered in 95 percent of the freeway miles that exist today in San Diego, Imperial and eastern Riverside counties.

"He was an iconic figure in the San Diego region, and much of San Diego's transportation history bears his fingerprints,"  said Laurie Berman, the current district director for Caltrans in San Diego. "He was a one-of-a-kind."

Tens of millions of federal transportation dollars went to California during Mr. Dekema's tenure. After the money dried up, he often lamented what he saw as an unfinished system, never forgetting a list of freeways he would have liked to see extended, such as highways 76, 125 and 78.

The civil engineer, who lived in the La Jolla neighborhood of Bird Rock, is remembered fondly by family and those who worked for him. They characterized him as even-keeled and compassionate.

"He was really positive and always wanting my brother and me to do our best,"  said his daughter, Pamela Dekema. "He was really considerate, always thinking about people's feelings."

During his quarter-century as head of Caltrans in greater San Diego, Mr. Dekema endured critics who said he constructed too many freeways, along with those who said he didn't complete enough.

Pamela Dekema remembered a news photo showing an occasion when her father was hanged in effigy by community members affected by a highway project.

"I think he had a remarkable attitude considering what he must have faced,"  she said. "I didn't perceiving him as being stressed when he came home. He was a very patient person."

As opposed to engineers who designed highly viable highways as aesthetic achievements, Mr. Dekema was known for attempting to lace his transportation system into the region's network of canyons in an attempt to limit negative impacts on communities and skylines.

"He was the kind of the person who brought out the best in the people around him. Morale was very high under his leadership,"  said Milton Costello, who worked for Caltrans as a transportation engineer from 1950 to 1993.

Mr. Dekema was born to Dutch parents on the island of Java in Indonesia. His father worked for several steamship companies, and the family lived in many locations around the world – including Amsterdam, Vancouver and San Francisco – before settling in Los Angeles.

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering with top honors from the University of Southern California in 1937. He then worked for Caltrans before serving in the Navy during World War II.

He finished his military tour in 1946 after meeting Shirley Parker, who would become his wife. He then went back to work for the transportation agency, where he logged a 42-year career overall.

After holding several different positions around the state, Mr. Dekema, now about 40 years old, moved to San Diego to become head of the local division.

"In the Caltrans circle, he's revered as a legend,"  said Gary Gallegos, a former Caltrans district director and currently executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments. "He's the father of the freeway system we have in San Diego today."

When Mr. Dekema took over control of Caltrans' local division in 1955, the region had 25 miles of freeway. He oversaw the addition of more than 485 miles.

"Mr. Dekema was a truly great leader and insisted that all Caltrans engineers share his enthusiasms to complete the freeway projects on time and under budget,"  said Ray Ruggles, who worked as a transportation engineer for Caltrans from 1961 to 2001.

In 1982, Interstate 805 was named the Jacob Dekema Freeway. In honor of his 100th birthday, the California Transportation Foundation started the Dekema Scholarship for high school and college students aspiring to careers in transportation planning.

Besides his daughter, Mr. Dekema is survived by his wife; son, Douglas Dekema; a granddaughter; and two great-grandchildren.

His family plans to hold a memorial service on July 9 at 2 p.m. in the lower lounge of the Casa de Mañana assisted-living center.

[nexus73]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/sd-me-dekema-obit-20170505-story.html

Jacob Dekema, who oversaw most of county's freeway construction, dead at 101

The man who oversaw construction of nearly all of San Diego County’s freeway system has died.

Jacob Dekema died last month in his sleep from natural causes at an assisted living facility in La Jolla, and his family announced the passing this week. He was 101.

Known affectionately as “Mr. Caltrans,” he designed the region’s intricate network of highways and connectors, an accomplishment often cited as helping to inspire the nation’s interstate-highway system.

Mr. Dekema headed up Caltrans District 11 from 1955 to 1980. During that time, he ushered in 95 percent of the freeway miles that exist today in San Diego, Imperial and eastern Riverside counties.

“He was an iconic figure in the San Diego region, and much of San Diego’s transportation history bears his fingerprints,” said Laurie Berman, the current district director for Caltrans in San Diego. “He was a one-of-a-kind.”

Tens of millions of federal transportation dollars went to California during Mr. Dekema’s tenure. After the money dried up, he often lamented what he saw as an unfinished system, never forgetting a list of freeways he would have liked to see extended, such as highways 76, 125 and 78.

The civil engineer, who lived in the La Jolla neighborhood of Bird Rock, is remembered fondly by family and those who worked for him. They characterized him as even-keeled and compassionate.

“He was really positive and always wanting my brother and me to do our best,” said his daughter, Pamela Dekema. “He was really considerate, always thinking about people’s feelings.”

During his quarter-century as head of Caltrans in greater San Diego, Mr. Dekema endured critics who said he constructed too many freeways, along with those who said he didn’t complete enough.

Pamela Dekema remembered a news photo showing an occasion when her father was hanged in effigy by community members affected by a highway project.

“I think he had a remarkable attitude considering what he must have faced,” she said. “I didn’t perceiving him as being stressed when he came home. He was a very patient person.”

As opposed to engineers who designed highly viable highways as aesthetic achievements, Mr. Dekema was known for attempting to lace his transportation system into the region’s network of canyons in an attempt to limit negative impacts on communities and skylines.

“He was the kind of the person who brought out the best in the people around him. Morale was very high under his leadership,” said Milton Costello, who worked for Caltrans as a transportation engineer from 1950 to 1993.

Mr. Dekema was born to Dutch parents on the island of Java in Indonesia. His father worked for several steamship companies, and the family lived in many locations around the world — including Amsterdam, Vancouver and San Francisco — before settling in Los Angeles.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with top honors from the University of Southern California in 1937. He then worked for Caltrans before serving in the Navy during World War II.

He finished his military tour in 1946 after meeting Shirley Parker, who would become his wife. He then went back to work for the transportation agency, where he logged a 42-year career overall.

After holding several different positions around the state, Mr. Dekema, now about 40 years old, moved to San Diego to become head of the local division.

“In the Caltrans circle, he’s revered as a legend,” said Gary Gallegos, a former Caltrans district director and currently executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments. “He’s the father of the freeway system we have in San Diego today.”

When Mr. Dekema took over control of Caltrans’ local division in 1955, the region had 25 miles of freeway. He oversaw the addition of more than 485 miles.

“Mr. Dekema was a truly great leader and insisted that all Caltrans engineers share his enthusiasms to complete the freeway projects on time and under budget,” said Ray Ruggles, who worked as a transportation engineer for Caltrans from 1961 to 2001.

In 1982, Interstate 805 was named the Jacob Dekema Freeway. In honor of his 100th birthday, the California Transportation Foundation started the Dekema Scholarship for high school and college students aspiring to careers in transportation planning.

Besides his daughter, Mr. Dekema is survived by his wife; son, Douglas Dekema; a granddaughter; and two great-grandchildren.

His family plans to hold a memorial service on July 9 at 2 p.m. in the lower lounge of the Casa de Mañana assisted-living center.

So who are the leaders of vision for today?  After seeing how HOV and toll lanes with interchanges specifically built to handle them are now extant in SoCal, it makes me wonder who pushes forward freeway design in metroplexes?  Is there someone like that in Houston, which seem to be getting a massive makeover for freeways? 

Oregon has regressed sad to say, with the Bend Parkway being Exhibit A, when it comes to freeway design in cities while PDX's network of freeways is so overwhelmed.  Eugene has new 6-lane freeway bridges but they are not connected to the tiny 6-lane segment already in place despite the short distances and easy terrain to deal with.  ODOT is not even looking at expanding I-5 in Eugene until the 2030's according to correspondence with that agency a few years ago. 

Thanks for posting up a wonderful article Andy!

Rick

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah, I'd like to know more about the visionaries' of freeway construction in California today as well. Hopefully they aren't a bunch anti-car activists like the ones who are essentially trying to stop any expansion project.

Also agreed is what a great article! Thank you for posting that. I never heard of this man but he sounds like a great guy who did a lot of good for the community.

[sparker]

Dekema's efforts were crucial during the mid-late '70's in the quest to keep a decent measure of progress on the San Diego freeway system intact during the "dark years" of the Gianturco administration at Caltrans.  Of all the major California regions, the San Diego district was relatively immune to the "cut-and-slash" approach that the then-director utilized to eliminate previously adopted freeway corridors.  But even then, they lost a few (157 and 171, which were either duplicative or ill-advised and hardly missed), but some useful segments, such as the CA 252 connector between I-5 and I-805, were deleted as well (even though the 805 interchange was partially built).  But, to his everlasting credit, Dekema hung in there until after Gianturco left -- so his successor(s) would have something which with to work!

[rschen7754]

http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jacob-dekema-20170508-story.html

Dekema was the San Diego Caltrans district director at the time when most of the San Diego County freeways were built.