James Price (civil engineer)
James Price (6 February 1917 – 22 September 2005) was a Welsh civil engineer, mathematician and author. Price was the chief resident engineer on several large-scale engineering projects, including the M1 and M3 motorways,[1][2]
James Price | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 February 1917 Flint, Wales |
| Died | 22 September 2005 Barry, Wales |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool |
| Spouse | Mary Eluned Price (née Williams) |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil engineering Infrastructure engineering Transportation engineering Engineering mathematics |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers |
| Projects | M1 motorway M3 motorway A30 road |
Education
Price was a national scholar studying engineering mathematics. In the summer higher exams of 1935, he was ninth in the county. Price graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1938 with a Bachelor of Engineering.[3] He joined the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1942 at the age of 25, following examinations he had taken pre-emptively in the summer of 1940. At the same time, Price was recommended for promotion to assistant civil engineer (A.C.E.). In 1942, he became a Master of Engineering.[2][4]
Career
Price was chosen as the chief resident engineer on the first section of the M1, working with Sir Owen Williams KBE and minister for transport Harold Watkinson.[3] The opening took place on 2 November 1959.[5] King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, visited the site during its construction; Price, whom the prince had never met,[4] was invited to meet him, which he did and describes in the following excerpt from Price's Progress: The Tortuous Journey of a Roving Civil Engineer:
"The young man was slim and neatly attired in a dark single-breasted suit, white collar and shirt, with the plain schoolboyish tie, currently in fashion for men. His dark, coarse, almost lacklustre hair lay down neatly on either side of a well-defined straight parting worn on the left of his head. The prince was pleasant, relaxed, and friendly, the sort of youth you have met so often. It was by no means apparent that he was just being launched gently into public duties. He was not uptight, his modest, engaging charm becoming to his age, yet he was purposeful. I was told later that we talked for about twelve minutes. It did not seem that long."[3]
In the early 1960s, Price took up the position of senior resident engineer for the leading British electrical engineering consultancy engineers Merz & McLellan,[2] who had started a scheme in the interest of reclaiming land owned by the London Brick Company in Peterborough.[3] This became known as the Peterborough Dust Disposal Scheme.[4]
From 1967 to 31 December 1968, Price was the resident engineer for the Tilbury Grain Terminal, which was completed on schedule. From 1 January 1969, he served as chief resident engineer for the first M3 motorway contract in Surrey County in 1969.[3]
Works
Engineering
- 1951–1959 – M1 Motorway phase one
- 1956–1967 – M1 Motorway phase two
- 1961 – Peterborough Dust Disposal Scheme
- 1967–1968 – Tilbury Grain Terminal
- 1969–1974 – M3 Motorway phase one
- 1971 – A30 road
- 1974 – M3 Motorway phase two
References
- Engineering Timelines - James Price
- Mr. James Price M.E. M.I.C.E.
- Price, James (8 November 2022). Price's Progress: The Tortuous Journey of a Roving Civil Engineer. United Kingdom: Vantage Press. ISBN 9780533086207.
- Chief Resident Engineer James Price
- Chris Marshall. "Motorway Database – M1". CBRD. Retrieved 8 November 2022.