Dr. Louis Berger initially founded the Louis Berger Group (Berger) in 1953, as a soils mechanics and foundations engineering firm. His first major assignment soon followed: the design of a large portion of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the first turnpike in the United States.

Soon afterwards, he opened a second office in East Orange, New Jersey. Dr. Berger's work load and staff continued to grow with projects at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station and Berger’s first assignment for the New Jersey State Highway Department — the interchange at Amboy Avenue and U.S. Route 1 in Edison Township. In 1956, the biggest single highway contract in the Berger Group's infancy, 13.5 miles of Interstate Route 80 between Denville and Netcong, New Jersey commenced. This was the first interstate road to be designed and constructed in New Jersey. By 1957, Berger supplied the inspection services at Lakehurst for the construction of the jet sled facilities, the catapult and the arresting gear facilities. Berger also designed several large bridges for the city of Buffalo, New York, including the design of the Ohio Street Lift Bridge over the Buffalo River.

The company's first international assignment, in 1959, was the fabled Rangoon to Mandalay Road built through Burma's rugged, guerrilla-infested terrain. Under Dr. Berger’s direction, engineers completed drilling, testing, photogrammetry, ground surveys and rehabilitation designs for 435 miles between Rangoon and Mandalay, normally scheduled to take a year, in just 90 days.

In 1960, the Louis Berger Group conducted feasibility studies, prepared designs and supervised the construction of Nigeria's 210-kilometer, $20 million USAID-funded Calabar-Ikom Road. The 14-year project, often referred to as the "Highway of Progress," included the $4.5 million steel truss Cross River Bridge, which allowed travelers to cross the Calabar River without using ferries.

Also during the 1960s, Berger supervised the design team that completed the 2,000-mile Trans-Amazon Highway, opening up the huge Amazon Basin for settlement.

Throughout the decade, the Berger Group expanded its influence in Asia, supporting the development of a number of key routes, including the 600-mile East Pakistan Road in modern day Bangladesh. As a result of this success, the nation became the first of Berger’s many long-term client states. In 1967, the Louis Berger Group’s designs were recognized with a CEC Engineering Excellence Awards, for the design of Kittikachorn Stadium in Bangkok, for the Kingdom of Thailand's Olympic Committee.

In 1969, Berger worked on the construction of one of the largest U.S. military bases in Southeast Asia, at U-Tapo, Thailand. Confronted by the challenge of sitting a runway on compressive soils, Dr. Berger's expertise in soil mechanics and insistence on a simple solution led to the use of locally available "jingle stone," saving the U.S. Navy over $100 million and reducing construction time by 20 percent.

In the 1970s Berger expanded into Norway and Sweden with Brokonsult, its Stockholm based subsidiary. Projects have ranged from the extension of the Stockholm Subway System (Berger/Brokonsult designed 18 new stations and sections of subway tunnel) to the development of a new foundation for the Kala Marine Wharf in Narvik, Norway. Other projects during the decade included the Philippines' Flood Damage Control and Rehabilitation Project in 1972; the Highway Organization and Maintenance Study in the Sudan; and a 1976 national transportation study for Haiti.

The Berger Group’s successes continued in the 1980s with the Group’s participation in the design/construction team that won a Department of Defense citation for the construction of the Ovda Airbase in Israel, a cornerstone of the Camp David Peace Agreement between Israel and Egypt and part of the Sinai Peacekeeping Accords.

During this decade, the Team also undertook the design of a section of Interstate 295 in New Jersey. This challenging project involved the construction of a highway bridge over a sensitive wetland area and the Abbott Farm cultural site. Berger specialists prepared environmental analyses and Berger’s newly former Cultural Resource Group conducted subsurface testing to identify artifacts then excavated and preserved thousands of Native American artifacts.

In 1985, CHELBI, Inc., a joint-venture engineering consulting partnership between The Louis Berger Group and the China Highway Engineering Consultants, was formed to provide consulting engineering services while concurrently incorporating such activities as computer design services and software development.

In 1986, Berger was retained by as Technical Advisor to the underwriting banking syndicate for the Channel Tunnel linking the British Isles with the European Continent. The Group spent eight years performing design, cost and schedule monitoring and risk analysis for the mega-project that helped to reshape the map of Europe.

During the 1990s, Berger has participated in a variety of major assignments including the supervision of the $4 billion Second Bangkok International Airport. Berger also worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to redevelop Newark International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the United States. This $1.3 billion dollar reconstruction program included a new international terminal, a $378 million dollar monorail system and improved access roads. In South America, the Berger team also prepared designs for the $1-billion-plus, 41-kilometer Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge linking Argentina and Uruguay.

To achieve peace through the economic revitalization, Berger organized the multi-billion peso Growth Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program. Berger specialists supported broad-based growth in Mindanao through the development of small businesses, job-training for citizens and the organization of farmer and fisher cooperatives. Berger also worked to bring over $600 million in investments to the island through an internationally recognized investment campaign. GEM’s many successes received a Philippines Presidential Citation and led to the creation of several successor programs.

Berger’s newest challenge has been assisting the large number of nations emerging from command economies and internal strife. To foster lasting progress, the Team listens to the goals of the people and then tailors economic and development plans to build on these dreams while respecting local traditions. In the former Yugoslavia, Berger engineers have reconstructed Serbia’s Sloboda Bridge, developed police stations in Bosnia and Kosovo, and supported community-sponsored projects in Macedonia and Croatia. Across the war-torn nation of Afghanistan, the Berger Group is constructing power plants, repairing of irrigation systems and dams and rebuilding damaged schools and medical clinics. The Team also undertook the design and construction of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway in Afghanistan, linking Afghanistan’s two major cities. In Iraq, the Berger Group is assisting in the reconstruction of transportation and communications infrastructure and the development of hospitals, schools, courts and police stations.

In 2000, Berger environmental specialists began working with government leaders throughout Asia to promote innovative urban management plans and effective environmental codes. Recognizing that the most effective change will come from within industry, Berger is working with businesses to promote voluntary environmental and production standards and spread this change across the supply chain.

The Berger Group continues to work on major assignments around the globe providing our clients with the most recent techniques in project planning, design, programming, management, administration and budgeting. Berger brings to each assignment the expertise of a permanent staff with extensive prior experience in the implementation of diverse techniques and skills from a wide variety of assignments throughout the world.

Since its beginning, The Louis Berger Group has been involved in the planning, design and construction management of over 100,000 miles of highway; 2,000 miles of railroad; 3,000 bridges; 100 airfields, seaports, dams, water supply systems; numerous environmental mitigation projects; and diverse cultural preservation projects throughout the United States and in 140 countries.

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