In Memoriam: Art Bendelius

Arthur “Art” George Bendelius, a prominent figure in tunnel engineering, passed away July 4, 2025, according to legacy.com. He was 89.

Bendelius was born May 21, 1936, in Clifton, N.J., and attended Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., where he earned BS and MMS degrees in engineering.

According to an article on stevens.edu, Bendelius began working for Syska Hennessey designing HVAC systems for high-rise buildings before joining Parsons Brinckerhoff (now WSP) shortly thereafter. He would spend the majority of his career at PB, carving out a niche in tunnel ventilation.

“We were doing HVAC in industrial and military facilities,” Bendelius told stevens.edu. “It was super classified work. The company was involved in designing road and rail tunnels. I was part of the team that studied the tunnel ventilation, drainage and fire protection systems.”

Bendelius’ legacy in the industry includes authoring chapters for the Tunnel Engineering Handbook, originally published in 1982 and updated in 1996.

Bendelius retired from PB in 2004 and worked as a consultant until 2017 before fully retiring, according to stevens.edu.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Brown Bendelius, whom he met while at Stevens. They were married in 1958. He is survived by his three daughters, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.