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JOHN MONTGOMERY KYLE, JR.
1904-1970
BY THOMAS C. KAVANAGH
J OHN M. KYLE, JR., Chief Engineer of the Port of New York
Authority (PONYA), died on September 30, 1970. He served that
agency for almost a quarter of a century and was the latest in a line
of distinguished engineers Gen. George Goethals, Othmar Am-
mann, and John C. Evans in the Authority's highest engineering
post.
As Port Authority Chief Engineer, Mr. Kyle established his own
unique and worldwide reputation. He participated during his years
of service in the design and construction of every major project that
was initiated and carried forth in those years by this large-scale
public corporate agency, which was created by the states of New
York and New Jersey to purchase, construct, lease, operate, and
otherwise administer terminal and transportation facilities and to
promote commerce in the Port District. Among the more recent
projects of PONYA, for which Mr. Kyle had direct responsibility, was
the design and construction of the Third Tube of the Lincoln
Tunnel, the new LaGuardia Airport terminal complex and its
runway extensions over water, the second deck of the George
Washington Bridge Bus Terminal, and the foundations for the
World Trade Center.
As Chief Engineer of PONYA since 1947, Mr. Kyle was responsible
for the design and construction of all new facilities, as well as all
major improvements to existing facilities. These included the New
York International Airport, Newark; LaGuardia and Teterboro
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airports; the Midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal; the New York
and New Jersey Union Motor Truck terminals; Port Newark; Port
Elizabeth; Hoboken piers; Brooklyn Port Authority piers; the land
tunnel spanning Manhattan at 179th Street; and the rehabilitation
and partial reconstruction of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad
(now known as PATH) connecting New York and New Jersey. The
broad scope of Mr. Kyle's activities encompassed more than 1,500
square miles of the teeming New York City metropolitan area, with
some 13 million inhabitants.
It is difficult to grasp the enormous breadth of activity and scope
of responsibility carried by John M. Kyle during his service with the
Port Authority, as it covered close to $2 billion worth of public
facilities: four major airports; two underwater highway tunnels and
one of the world's great suspension bridges; piers, docks, and
marine terminals in the country's biggest seaport; bus and truck
terminals; the world's tallest buildings; a rail rapid transit line; and
a host of smaller structures, with new construction contracts ex-
ceeding $100 million each year.
Austin I. Tobin, Executive Director of PONYA, most concisely
described the overall functions and responsibilities of John M. Kyle
as follows:
Engineering (in the Port Authority) is a stat'l' department that carries
forward the I'unctional plans of' the line departments (Aviation, Marine
Terminals, Inland Terminals, Rail Transportation, Tunnels & Bridges,
and World Trade), converts their dreams into reality, and transforms
paper plans and cardboard models to structures of' steer and concrete.
Its general objective is to construct a facility that will meet the needs and
requirements ot' the people who are going to operate it, and of' the public
who are going to use it, and to do so at the lowest feasible cost. The chief'
engineer is responsible for the integrity of' all Port Authority construction.
John M. Kyle has been aptly described as one of a new breed of
civil engineers in public service, because of his ability to organize
his engineering staff into an efficient team to meet the diverse
demands of such a multidisciplined agency. He organized the
department into five major divisions: Design, Construction, Mate-
rials, Soils & Foundations, and Research & Development. He
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encouraged imagination and innovation among his staff and
brought in eminent consultants to advise and assist on projects of a
monumental character. Thus, on the George Washington Bridge
double decking, Mr. Othmar Ammann was a consultant; on the
commuter bus terminal at the New York end of the George
Washington Bridge, the eminent Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi
was called in as a consultant; and on the World Trade Center
buildings many noted architects and engineers were consulted. On
the foundations of the last named project, Mr. Kyle played a major
role in the adoption of the new slurry-trench method of placing
concrete perimeter walls with prestressed tie backs under difficult
soil conditions.
John M. Kyle's technical contributions constitute a variety of
diverse developments in construction and design technology:
1. The development of the sand drain and surcharge methods
for consolidation of marsh land to provide foundations for build-
ings and roads at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.
2. The advancement of the development of prestressed concrete
in this country, where the Port Authority was one of the first to
recognize the economic advantages of prestressed concrete and has
used this method of construction at a number of its facilities,
including the highway bridges at Kennedy International Airport,
the approach viaduct construction and the avenue bridges of the
New York approach of the George Washington Bridge, and, most
recently, the prestressed concrete runway extensions at LaGuardia
Airport.
3. The conceptual development of use of air rights above the
George Washington Bridge Expressway.
4. Construction methods and procedures for subaqueous tun-
nels for the Lincoln Tunnel Third Tube. Mr. Kyle was an interna-
tionally recognized authority on subaqueous tunnel design and
construction.
5. Conceptual and technical development of the high-
temperature hot water distribution system at Kennedy Interna-
tional Airport combined with circulating chilled water for refriger-
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ation. This combined boiler plant serves the entire Central Area
(Terminal City) of Kennedy International Airport.
Mr. Kyle's pioneering interest in research in engineering is also
typified by his authorization, as part of' the design of the World
Trade Center buildings, of extensive wind tunnel tests on models,
which in turn have helped move forward the boundaries of the
engineering profession's knowledge of wind effects on buildings.
John M. Kyle was born on December 3, 1904, in New York City.
In 1925 he graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a
Mechanical Engineering degree; he also did graduate study in
architecture at Columbia University and in airport engineering at
New York University.
From 1932 to 1943, Mr. Kyle was with the George`~. Atwell
Foundation Corporation, as Chief Engineer. His project operations
with that firm included the approaches to the Lincoln Tunnel and
to the Queens Midtown Tunnel, portions of the New York Central
West Side Improvement, the Hendrick Hudson Parkway, and the
foundations for Radio City.
During the war period, from 1943 to 1946, Mr. Kyle served as a
major in the Corps of' Engineers. In this service he participated in
the training of Airborne Aviation Engineer units and, as Staff'
Officer in Headquarters AAF, in the survey and field evaluation of
major Air Force facilities in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific
Islands. He was awarded an Army Commendation I'or his service.
Following the war, Mr. Kyle joined the Port of New York
Authority, where he served as Assistant to the Chief Engineer from
1946 to 1947, following which he was appointed to the post of'
Chief Engineer.
John M. Kyle was an active participant in professional society
activities and in furthering technical education. He was a Member
of the National Academy of Engineering and an Honorary
Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Other mem-
berships included the International Society of Soil Mechanics &
Foundation Engineering, Association Internationale Permanente
Des Congres De La Route, National Society of Professional En-
gineers, American Society for Testing and Materials, and the
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American Association of' Port Authorities. He was also a Civil
Engineering Member of the Inspection Committee of Engineers'
Council for Professional Development and a Director of the Society
of American Military Engineers, and a Member of the Board of
Governors of the New York Building Congress. At Princeton
University he served as a Member of the Advisory Council of the
Department of Civil Engineering. He was also a member of the
Moles.
As a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Mr.
Kyle served on the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, the
Ad Hoc Committee on Airport and Support Facilities, and the Ad
Hoc Study Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
Mr. Kyle received many awards in his professional career, among
which were the following:
1.~iames Laurie Prize American Society of Civil Engineers
1952.
2. Metropolitan Civil Engineer of' the Year—American Society
of Civil Engineers, 1960.
3. Distinguished Engineer in Public Service New York State
Society of' Professional Engineers, 1960.
4. Man-ol'-the-Year American Public Works Association, 1963.
5. Honor Member of' Chi Epsilon—National Civil Engineering
Fraternity.
6. Distinguished Service Medal The Port ot'New York Author-
ity, 1957.
7. Honorary Member Brooklyn Engineers Club.
8. Honorary Member American Society of' Civil Engineers.
9. Included in Engineering News Record list of Men Who Made
Marks in 1967.
10. Howard S. Cullman Distinguished Service Medal (awarded
posthumously by the Port of' New York Authority, 1970~.
In his personal life, Mr. Kyle served as an Elder of' the Marble
Collegiate Church and as a Director of' the American Foundation
of' Religion and Psychiatry. He was survived by his widow, the
I'ormer Virginia Tuxill (who passed away a few days after his
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death); two sons, [ohn III and Charles T.;
Jane.
John M. Kyle was an engineer of outstanding ability. He will long
be remembered by his fellow engineers and many friends for his
brilliant engineering and administrative skills, for his dedication
and integrity in his professional ideals, and for his warm personal
interest in his associates and in young engineers.
and a daughter, Sarah
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
chief engineer
