Charles H. Purcell

The Purcell Initiative was named after Charles Henry Purcell. 

Purcell was perhaps the preeminent civil engineer of the 20th Century. Among his many notable designs is the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, which was selected as one of the modern civil engineering wonders of the United States by American Society of Civil Engineers in 1955. He also oversaw the construction of the first freeway in the American West and the first stack interchange in the world. President Franklin Roosevelt selected him to serve on the National Interregional Highway Committee, whose final report inspired Congress to create the Interstate Highway System.

Charles Purcell was born in North Bend, Nebraska, and is a 1900 graduate of North Bend High School.  The Purcell Initiative takes inspiration in the creativity, ingenuity and enterprise of this native son of North Bend as it “builds a bridge” to the future or our community.