Laurence A. Dondanville

Larry graduated from Purdue University in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. Shortly thereafter, he was inducted into the U.S. Army and served in the 29th Engineer Base Topographic Battalion in the Philippine Islands. This was Larry’s introduction to the international areas where he made many of his greatest professional contributions.

Larry joined De Leuw, Cather & Company in 1953 following his separation from active duty. He advanced quickly through the ranks of De Leuw, Cather from Project Manager to Chief of the Transportation Planning Division and eventually to Senior Vice President and Director. During this time, Larry became very active internationally. He became a Director of De Leuw, Cather of Australia and Executive Vice President and Director of De Leuw, Cather International.

Larry was involved in planning, design and construction services for many major transportation projects throughout the world, including the first suspension bridge across the Bosphorus Straits at Istanbul, Turkey; the Kuwait and Abu Dhabi Motorway Systems in the Middle East; the Sydney and Perth Expressway Systems in Australia; and the Mass Rapid Transit Rail Systems in Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok. When he retired after 40 years with De Leuw, Cather, Larry was a Senior Vice President responsible for direction of the Traffic and Transportation Planning Business Area. Following retirement, he has continued to serve De Leuw, Cather as a Consultant on transportation projects such as the Istanbul-Ankara Rail System, the Kaohsiung MRT System and improvement of National Highway One in Vietnam. 

Larry was also committed to addressing the knowledge of traffic and transportation professionals around the world. He accomplished this by delivering seminars and frequently speaking on a wide variety of topics. He conducted and participated in classroom lectures and training seminars for young international engineers in Lebanon, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Australia, Tai-wan, Singapore and the People’s Republic of China at times when new technology and methods were hungrily sought there. He also taught several topics throughout the United States.

Larry was active in the formative years of the ITE Australia section, in which he participated regularly to help boost interest.  He became a Fellow in the Institution of Engineers in Australia.  In addition to his active involvement in ITE, he was an Associate of the Transportation Research Board and served as a Member of the Highway Capacity Committee in the 1960s.

Larry has been a registered Professional Engineer in eight states as well as a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He also was active in the American Public Transit Association, serving as Chair of their Policy & Planning Committee for three years. He was a regular presenter at the conferences of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and International Road Federation.

In the late 1960s, Larry served as Chair of ITE’s Technical Council, and he served as the 35th International President of ITE in 1974. He received the Burton W. Marsh Distinguished Service Award in 1981. In 1972, he was recognized as a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus by Purdue University for his international contributions to transportation.  

Many transportation engineers and planners in responsible positions throughout the world today worked under and/or were counseled by Larry during their formative years. The major projects upon which he performed and his more than 40 years of dedication to ITE stand as testament to his outstanding service in the interest of traffic and transportation engineering.