Constructing Interstate 65 through Alabama was a huge undertaking, but John Skinner proved he was more than up to the task. Highway engineers in other states faced the same challenges during the late 1950s and early 1960s because everything they did was new.
In Skinner, Alabama had a planner who was not afraid to make tough decisions. He also proved he could be quite the diplomat when dealing with local officials.
"John was tough, but he was also very kind-hearted, especially during the years that I-65 was being built," Don Vaughn, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said Friday.
Services for Skinner, who died Wednesday at the age of 83, will be at 10 a.m. today at the Chapel of Alabama Heritage Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett.
In 1950, Skinner joined the department, which then was known as the Alabama Highway Department. By the time the Interstate Funding Act was signed six years later, he had risen to an important planning position.
One of his responsibilities involved determining the exact route that the interstate would take as it wound its way about 400 miles from the Tennessee state line to Mobile Bay.
Of concern was the path I-65 would take through the state's major cities -- Montgomery, Birmingham and Mobile -- and a spur connecting Huntsville to the interstate.
Construction through heavily populated neighborhoods meant eminent domain proceedings and house purchases that displaced hundreds of families living in those areas -- compounding planning problems.
"John also had to consider the cultural and environmental impacts the route would have as it went through big cities," said Vaughn. "He dealt with costly four-lane interchanges, controlled access roads and other important issues."
Lamar McDavid, who was the department's bureau finance chief during part of Skinner's long career, remembered his friend as a man who had to deal with local governments at a time when carving out an interstate in urban areas was not met with smiles.
"He accomplished a lot," McDavid said of Skinner. "He pushed people to meet their deadlines, but he had a heart of gold."
Vaughn, a young Auburn University engineering graduate when he joined the Department of Transportation in 1972, recalled the time he and Skinner went to a meeting in Huntsville where the I-65 spur was a hotly debated issue.
"When we got to the meeting, we realized we had stirred up a nest of Ph.D.s," said Vaughn, with a laugh. "But John hung in there all through the meeting. He was a pleasure to work with."
Skinner grew up in Camden and received his engineering degree from Auburn University before joining the Navy during World War II.
As the interstate program began to wind down in the late 1970s, Skinner was promoted to assistant chief engineer in the department. He held that position until he retired in 1989.
In Skinner, Alabama had a planner who was not afraid to make tough decisions. He also proved he could be quite the diplomat when dealing with local officials.
"John was tough, but he was also very kind-hearted, especially during the years that I-65 was being built," Don Vaughn, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said Friday.
Services for Skinner, who died Wednesday at the age of 83, will be at 10 a.m. today at the Chapel of Alabama Heritage Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett.
In 1950, Skinner joined the department, which then was known as the Alabama Highway Department. By the time the Interstate Funding Act was signed six years later, he had risen to an important planning position.
One of his responsibilities involved determining the exact route that the interstate would take as it wound its way about 400 miles from the Tennessee state line to Mobile Bay.
Of concern was the path I-65 would take through the state's major cities -- Montgomery, Birmingham and Mobile -- and a spur connecting Huntsville to the interstate.
Construction through heavily populated neighborhoods meant eminent domain proceedings and house purchases that displaced hundreds of families living in those areas -- compounding planning problems.
"John also had to consider the cultural and environmental impacts the route would have as it went through big cities," said Vaughn. "He dealt with costly four-lane interchanges, controlled access roads and other important issues."
Lamar McDavid, who was the department's bureau finance chief during part of Skinner's long career, remembered his friend as a man who had to deal with local governments at a time when carving out an interstate in urban areas was not met with smiles.
"He accomplished a lot," McDavid said of Skinner. "He pushed people to meet their deadlines, but he had a heart of gold."
Vaughn, a young Auburn University engineering graduate when he joined the Department of Transportation in 1972, recalled the time he and Skinner went to a meeting in Huntsville where the I-65 spur was a hotly debated issue.
"When we got to the meeting, we realized we had stirred up a nest of Ph.D.s," said Vaughn, with a laugh. "But John hung in there all through the meeting. He was a pleasure to work with."
Skinner grew up in Camden and received his engineering degree from Auburn University before joining the Navy during World War II.
As the interstate program began to wind down in the late 1970s, Skinner was promoted to assistant chief engineer in the department. He held that position until he retired in 1989.
Constructing Interstate 65 through Alabama was a huge undertaking, but John Skinner proved he was more than up to the task. Highway engineers in other states faced the same challenges during the late 1950s and early 1960s because everything they did was new.
In Skinner, Alabama had a planner who was not afraid to make tough decisions. He also proved he could be quite the diplomat when dealing with local officials.
"John was tough, but he was also very kind-hearted, especially during the years that I-65 was being built," Don Vaughn, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said Friday.
Services for Skinner, who died Wednesday at the age of 83, will be at 10 a.m. today at the Chapel of Alabama Heritage Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett.
In 1950, Skinner joined the department, which then was known as the Alabama Highway Department. By the time the Interstate Funding Act was signed six years later, he had risen to an important planning position.
One of his responsibilities involved determining the exact route that the interstate would take as it wound its way about 400 miles from the Tennessee state line to Mobile Bay.
Of concern was the path I-65 would take through the state's major cities -- Montgomery, Birmingham and Mobile -- and a spur connecting Huntsville to the interstate.
Construction through heavily populated neighborhoods meant eminent domain proceedings and house purchases that displaced hundreds of families living in those areas -- compounding planning problems.
"John also had to consider the cultural and environmental impacts the route would have as it went through big cities," said Vaughn. "He dealt with costly four-lane interchanges, controlled access roads and other important issues."
Lamar McDavid, who was the department's bureau finance chief during part of Skinner's long career, remembered his friend as a man who had to deal with local governments at a time when carving out an interstate in urban areas was not met with smiles.
"He accomplished a lot," McDavid said of Skinner. "He pushed people to meet their deadlines, but he had a heart of gold."
Vaughn, a young Auburn University engineering graduate when he joined the Department of Transportation in 1972, recalled the time he and Skinner went to a meeting in Huntsville where the I-65 spur was a hotly debated issue.
"When we got to the meeting, we realized we had stirred up a nest of Ph.D.s," said Vaughn, with a laugh. "But John hung in there all through the meeting. He was a pleasure to work with."
Skinner grew up in Camden and received his engineering degree from Auburn University before joining the Navy during World War II.
As the interstate program began to wind down in the late 1970s, Skinner was promoted to assistant chief engineer in the department. He held that position until he retired in 1989.
In Skinner, Alabama had a planner who was not afraid to make tough decisions. He also proved he could be quite the diplomat when dealing with local officials.
"John was tough, but he was also very kind-hearted, especially during the years that I-65 was being built," Don Vaughn, chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said Friday.
Services for Skinner, who died Wednesday at the age of 83, will be at 10 a.m. today at the Chapel of Alabama Heritage Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Lanett.
In 1950, Skinner joined the department, which then was known as the Alabama Highway Department. By the time the Interstate Funding Act was signed six years later, he had risen to an important planning position.
One of his responsibilities involved determining the exact route that the interstate would take as it wound its way about 400 miles from the Tennessee state line to Mobile Bay.
Of concern was the path I-65 would take through the state's major cities -- Montgomery, Birmingham and Mobile -- and a spur connecting Huntsville to the interstate.
Construction through heavily populated neighborhoods meant eminent domain proceedings and house purchases that displaced hundreds of families living in those areas -- compounding planning problems.
"John also had to consider the cultural and environmental impacts the route would have as it went through big cities," said Vaughn. "He dealt with costly four-lane interchanges, controlled access roads and other important issues."
Lamar McDavid, who was the department's bureau finance chief during part of Skinner's long career, remembered his friend as a man who had to deal with local governments at a time when carving out an interstate in urban areas was not met with smiles.
"He accomplished a lot," McDavid said of Skinner. "He pushed people to meet their deadlines, but he had a heart of gold."
Vaughn, a young Auburn University engineering graduate when he joined the Department of Transportation in 1972, recalled the time he and Skinner went to a meeting in Huntsville where the I-65 spur was a hotly debated issue.
"When we got to the meeting, we realized we had stirred up a nest of Ph.D.s," said Vaughn, with a laugh. "But John hung in there all through the meeting. He was a pleasure to work with."
Skinner grew up in Camden and received his engineering degree from Auburn University before joining the Navy during World War II.
As the interstate program began to wind down in the late 1970s, Skinner was promoted to assistant chief engineer in the department. He held that position until he retired in 1989.
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