The year was 1952. Automobile ownership was growing dramatically in the United States, and the early phases of suburban development in the post World War II period were underway. Soon the nation would embark on developing the Interstate Highway System.

America was on the move and local, regional and national officials across the country needed help in making significant transportation and infrastructure investment decisions.

Enter Wilbur S. Smith, a visionary in the field of transportation. The first State Traffic Engineer in South Carolina, he was educated at the University of South Carolina and at Harvard University's Street Traffic Research Bureau, later teaching at the Yale Bureau of Highway Traffic.

Clearly, Wilbur understood the link between transportation and economic productivity and prosperity. He and his brother, James M. Smith, founded a consulting practice in that year, which today stands as Wilbur Smith Associates.

Wilbur's vision was global and multimodal, and he dedicated his career to advancing the transportation profession through infrastructure planning, engineering and economics. Today, Wilbur Smith Associates remains at the forefront of the consulting profession, providing services to clients throughout the world.