A. E. Burgess

A. E. "Pee Wee" Burgess (born October 4, 1919 in Collinsville, DeKalb County; died June 2, 1998) was the founder and president of the A. E. Burgess Co., Inc., a major highway construction company, and Burgess Mining & Construction, which developed coal mines. He was also part owner of the Birmingham Vulcans and a primary figure in efforts to secure a National League Football franchise for Birmingham in the 1970s.

Burgess got his first experience as a road builder while serving in the U.S. Navy's "SeaBees" during World War II. He founded his construction company in Birmingham in 1948. Starting on December 1, 1957, his firm undertook the construction of Alabama's first Interstate construction project funded under the Federal Highway Act of 1956. He worked with the Robbins Company of Ohio and the Monsanto Company of Missouri to develop new excavating and blasting technologies.

Burgess diversified into mining in 1968 and also developed the Verdure Knolls residential subdivision in Hoover in the 1970s. He served as president of the Alabama Road Builders Association and was a founder of the Alabama Surface Mining Reclamation Council. He was inducted into the Alabama Road Builders Hall of Fame in 2009.

References

• A. E. "PeeWee" Burgess. Alabama Road Builders Association - accessed March 11, 2014