ARTBA
Inventor John Deere is one of four 2022 inductees into the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Foundation’s “Transportation Development Hall of Fame.”
The Hall “honors individuals or families from the public and private sectors who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. transportation development during their careers,” according to the organization.
Nominees fall into one of two categories: Transportation Design & Construction Industry Leaders, or Transportation Design & Construction Industry Innovators.
2022 ARTBA Hall of Fame
- Innovator: John Deere (1804-1886). A blacksmith by trade, Deere began experimenting with new plow designs, eventually crafting a new piece of equipment: a self-scouring plow made of steel from a broken sawblade. Deere sold his first one in 1838. Increasing demand in 1843 led Deere to partner with Leonard Andrus to produce more inventory and by 1857, their annual output of plows was 10,000.
In 1868, Deere’s business incorporated under the name Deere & Company, and today is headquartered in Moline, Illinois. - Innovator: James “J.J.” Eden, executive director of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. In 1988, he co-founded the Interagency Group, better known to motorists as E-Z Pass. He wrote the business rules and operating procedures for the group, which launched in 1990 in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Today, E-Z Pass is the world’s largest interoperable toll collection program, consisting of 45 agencies in 19 states, serving 49 million transponders, and collecting more than $14 billion annually in electronic toll revenues.
- Leader: Don Stabler (1908-1997). Donald B. Stabler entered the highway construction business in 1940 as a sole proprietorship. In 1955, he merged that proprietorship into Stabler Construction Company, laying the foundation for Stabler Companies Inc., which would employ 1,200 people throughout Pennsylvania and other states. New Enterprise Stone & Lime Company acquired the Stabler Companies in 2008.
Stabler was the founding president of The Road Information Program (TRIP). Stabler was a past president of the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, and an active member of ARTBA, the American Society of Highway Engineers, and the National Asphalt Pavement Association. - Leader: UTCA of New Jersey CEO Robert A. Briant, Jr. Serving as CEO of the UTCA of New Jersey since 2006, Briant has continued in the footsteps of his father Robert Sr., who held the same position for 33 years starting in 1973. With the membership’s help, father and son built UTCA into the Garden State’s most effective voice for investing in transportation, water, and utility infrastructure.
A confidante of the state’s governors, legislative leaders and transportation officials from both parties, Robert Jr., has led efforts to pass two dozen laws that are shaping the state’s infrastructure network and the work environment for contractors building it.
The class will be formally inducted during a May 2023 event at ARTBA’s Federal Issues Program, held in the Nation’s Capital.
Source: ARTBA Foundation
