Alan Manners Voorhees (December 17, 1922 – December 18, 2005) was an transportation engineer and urban planner who designed many large public works in the United States. Voorhees was born in Highland Park, New Jersey. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The engineering of this roundabout attempts to make traffic flow as efficient as possible. ... Urban planning is concerned with the ordering and design of settlements, from the smallest towns to the worlds largest cities. ... Highland Park highlighted in Middlesex County Highland Park is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. ...

Early life

During World War II, he left his studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to enlist in the United States Navy as an officer in what was called "Underwater Demolition Team 11" (UDT-11), a precursor to the U.S. Navy SEALs. He spent much of the war mapping shoreline defenses in the Pacific. After the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Voorhees' unit was sent in to inspect the city making him one of the first Americans to see the bomb's aftermath. For his military service he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Presidential Unit Citation. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a nonsectarian, coeducational private research university in Troy, New York, a city lying just outside the state capital of Albany. ... USN redirects here. ... Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) were a precursor to the current United States Navy SEALs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... The Silver Star is the fourth highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ... Please see Presidential Unit Citation for other versions of this award The Presidential Unit Citation is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941 (the date of the Attack on...

After the war, Voorhees continued his education, graduating from RPI in 1947 and then earning his master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1949. Urban, city, or town planning, deals with design of the built environment from the municipal and metropolitan perspective. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, coeducational research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

Transportation planning

In 1952, Voorhees came to Washington, D.C. to work for the nonprofit Automobile Safety Foundation. While studying traffic in Baltimore, Voorhees developed a mathematical formula to predict traffic patterns based on land use. This formula has been instrumental in the design of numerous transportation and public works projects around the world. He wrote "A General Theory of Traffic Movement" (1956), which applied the gravity model to trip distribution, which translates trips generated in an area to a matrix that identifies the number of trips from each origin to each destination, which can then be loaded onto the network. For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more Motto: Get In On It (formerly The City That Reads and The Greatest City in America; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Location Location of Baltimore in Maryland Coordinates , Government Country State County United... Trip distribution (or destination choice or zonal interchange analysis), is the second component (after trip generation, but before mode choice and route assignment) in the traditional 4-step transportation planning (or forecasting) model. ... Trip distribution (or destination choice or zonal interchange analysis), is the second component (after trip generation, but before mode choice and route assignment) in the traditional 4-step transportation planning (or forecasting) model. ...

In 1961, he began his own engineering firm (Alan M. Voorhees & Associates) which eventually grew to have branches in ten U.S. cities. He was involved in the design of many subway systems including those in São Paulo, Hong Kong, Caracas, and Washington, D.C. This page refers to urban rail mass transit systems. ... This article is about the city. ... Nickname: La Sultana del Avila (English:The Avilas Sultan) La Sucursal del paraiso Motto: Ave María Santísima, sin pecado concebida, en el primer instante de su ser natural. ... Washington Metro redirects here. ...

Voorhees sold his firm in 1967 and became the dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Urban Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle in 1971. The firm went on to be project manager of the Boston Transportation Planning Review. Voorhees invested in the Micros Corporation and its electronic cash register in the late 1960s. This article is about the University of Illinois at Chicago. ... The Big Digs Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge over the Charles River. ... Antique crank-operated cash register This article is about the cash register. ...

Voorhees designed the street grid for land that was reclaimed in lower Manhattan in New York City, connecting new streets to centuries-old already existing roads and to the Brooklyn Bridge. He was also one of the early designers of the United States' Interstate Highway System and helped determine how the highways would cut through or bypass urban areas. For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... For other uses, see Brooklyn Bridge (disambiguation). ... Interstate Highways in the 48 contiguous states. ...

Later life

In 1979, following airline deregulation, Voorhees helped found Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which was later bought by Delta Air Lines. President Jimmy Carter signs the Airline Deregulation Act. ... Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) is an American airline based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA flying to over 150 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier. ... Delta Air Lines, Inc. ...

Voorhees received the first Harland Bartholomew Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers as the engineer who has contributed most to urban planning, and was honored with the establishment of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University in 1998, and helped found the Voorhees Computing Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a professional body, founded in 1852, to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. ... “Rutgers” redirects here. ... Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a nonsectarian, coeducational private research university in Troy, New York, a city lying just outside the state capital of Albany. ...

He was chairman of the board of Autometric Corp., an aerospace company based in Northern Virginia. Autometric was later sold to Boeing.

Voorhees was an avid collector of historical maps, amassing an impressive collection of over 300 maps focused on the history of Virginia. He donated this valuable collection worth millions of dollars to the Library of Congress, the Library of Virginia, and the Virginia Historical Society. For other uses, see Map (disambiguation). ... // [edit] Native Americans Virginia Indian chief in engraving after John White watercolor The portion of the New World designated Virginia in honor of the Virgin Queen (Elizabeth I) in the late 16th century had been inhabited by many groups of Native Americans for at least 3,000 years, based upon... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, its archival agency, and the reference library at the seat of government. ... The Virginia Historical Society, founded in 1831, is a major repository, research and teaching center for Virginia history. ...

Voorhees believed government could greatly improve the human condition, and was an early supporter of the Council for Excellence in Government. The Council for Excellence in Government is a public/private partnership organization designed to improve the effectiveness of federal, state, and local government in the United States. ...

In the late 1990s, Voorhees started a project to automate county government services in Richmond County, Virginia. The system he supported involved scanning thousands of land records in the county clerk's office and connecting these with data from the county planning office (topo maps, sewer and water overlays, etc.) and tax office. The land records were then sent via the Internet to be archived at the Library of Virginia. He spent over $600,000 on this project, and hired an attorney to assist him with his work. Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the state of Virginia. ... Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, its archival agency, and the reference library at the seat of government. ...

Voorhees died in a hotel he owned in Richmond, Virginia from a stroke at the age of 83. Nickname: Motto: Sic dic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars) Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: , Country State County Independent City Government  - Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (I) Area  - City 62. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ...

References

• Schudel, Matt. "Pioneer in Highway Design Spread Talents Broadly", Washington Post, December 24, 2005, p. B01. 
• Voorhees, Alan M., 1956; "A General Theory of Traffic Movement," 1955 Proceedings, Institute of Traffic Engineers, New Haven, Connecticut.