William Adair Bugge (July 10, 1900 - November 14, 1992) was a civil engineer who played a major role in the development of the transportation infrastructure of the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

during the latter half of the 20th century.

Background

William A. Bugge was born in Port Hadlock, Washington to Samuel M. & Amelia (Bishop) Bugge, his father a Norwegian immigrant and his mother the daughter of immigrants from Great Britain and some of the earliest settlers on the

Quimper Peninsula The Quimper Peninsula is a narrow peninsula forming the most northeastern extent of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state in the northwestern United States of America. The peninsula is named after the Peruvian-born Spanish explorer Manuel ...

. He grew up in Friday Harbor,

Port Angeles Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,960 at the 2020 census, it is the most populous city in the county, as well as the most populous city on the Olympic Peninsula. T ...

, and finally

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

, where he excelled in sports and graduated from high school.

Career

After attending

Washington State College Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant universities in the American West. With an un ...

for three and a half years, in 1922 he began work with the Washington Department of Highways engineering department. After holding public sector positions in Port Townsend and

Jefferson County, Washington Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. The county seat and only incorporated city is Port Townsend. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson County ...

, and working in the private sector in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, he was recruited by Washington Governor

Arthur B. Langlie Arthur Bernard Langlie (July 25, 1900 – July 24, 1966) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Seattle, Washington and was the List of governors of Washington, 12th and 14th governor of the Washington (state), U.S. state of W ...

to head the state's Department of Highways. As the Director of Highways in

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

(1949–1963) he oversaw the design and completion of some of the state's most ambitious transportation projects including the

Astoria–Megler Bridge The Astoria–Megler Bridge is a steel cantilever through-truss bridge in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States that spans the lower Columbia River. It carries a section of U.S. Route 101 from Astoria, Oregon, to Point Ellice near M ...

a span that crosses the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

near its mouth at the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. In 1953 he was recruited to fill the same position in the state of

, but declined, stating his wish to complete projects in Washington. In 1963, however, he resigned his Washington position to become the project director in charge of design and construction of the

Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running to Antioch, and Oakland Airport Connecto ...

project in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. In 1990, William was granted an honorary bachelor's degree from Washington State University and recognized as a distinguished alumnus, a status that had been granted to only 19 others in the history of the university.

Later years

Bugge retired in 1973 and died in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

nearly two decades later. In 1977 the

Hood Canal Bridge The Hood Canal Bridge (officially William A. Bugge Bridge) is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap ...

, one of the projects he oversaw in Washington, was officially renamed the "William A. Bugge Bridge" in his honor.

References

*Burows, Alyssa
"William Adair Bugge assumes duties as Director of Highways on July 1, 1949"
in the HistoryLink.org Timeline Library, Essay 7256. March 5, 2005 (retrieved July 24, 2006). *Jefferson County Historical Society. ''With Pride in Heritage: History of Jefferson County''. Portland, Oregon: Professional Publishing Printing, Inc., 1966. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugge, William A. 1900 births 1992 deaths American people of Norwegian descent People from Port Townsend, Washington People from Jefferson County, Washington People from Friday Harbor, Washington People from Port Angeles, Washington