Neal Wood (1926-2017)
Neal Wood spent nearly 40 years as an engineer for the Turnpike Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation before retiring as the turnpike commission’s chief bridge engineer in 1991.
Wood is responsible for the research and development of one of the most effective highway safety devices, known as the Sonic Nap Alert Pattern (SNAP) system, which is the pattern of rumble strips grooved into the shoulders of highways to alert drivers when they stray from the road. After his initial idea, he did some research with the state police and learned that many car accidents were caused by drivers who drifted off the road after falling asleep at the wheel or becoming distracted and not paying attention to the road. The rumble strip innovation would help save countless lives in the U.S. and became so successful that it was adopted worldwide.
Wood, a civil engineer and World War II veteran, worked on several high-profile projects during his career, from the Interstate Highway System to the completion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, playing an instrumental role in building highway systems in Pennsylvania.
