Wallace Hawkes (1937-2014)
Hawkes originated the design and first application of the single point urban interchange (SPUI), more than 40 years ago on State Route 60 in Clearwater, Florida. The innovation became widely used in cities across America, particularly in dense urban areas. Its unique feature was an inverted left turn lane, which allowed left turns to be made simultaneously over or under a free-flowing road and in a considerably smaller space.
An additional space saving feature was the use of a single traffic signal to control the interchange compared to the two or more signals used at conventional interchanges.
A registered professional engineer in nearly 30 states, Hawkes spent his entire 56-year career in senior executive leadership positions with URS and its legacy company, J.R. Greiner, developing problem-solving solutions for clients on a global scale.
