George E. Battey Jr., 76; L.A. Freeway Bridge Builder, Burbank Civic Leader

George E. Battey Jr., a construction engineer who helped build many freeway bridges in Los Angeles and later became a civic leader and mayor of Burbank, Has died. He was 76.

Battey, who served as Burbank mayor in 1993 when the city was struggling with the loss of a major employer, Lockheed, died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday in Santa Barbara.

Always civic-minded, Battey capped his four-decade career in the construction industry by serving the small city where he lived -- Burbank. He was named to the Burbank planning board in 1985, and served two years as its chairman before resigning in 1991, when he won election to a four-year term on the City Council.

Fellow council members elected him mayor two years later, and Battey set about making city government more responsive both to citizens and businesses located there. He launched and hosted a weekly cable television program, “Ask the Mayor,” and on the first broadcast promised callers he would pursue a restaurant smoking ban, crack down on pushcart vendors and increase resources for police.

Faced with the loss of 15,000 jobs after Lockheed left Burbank, Battey established the Mayor’s Economic Development Roundtable, working with small businesses and entertainment companies such as Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. to provide a substitute job base.

“It’s time for you businesses to tell us what you need to restore California to its former economic vitality,” Battey said in a state of the city address to the Burbank Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 13, 1993.

He was named by the City Council as a member of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. He also represented the city on the board of the Metropolitan Water District and was an ex-officio member of the construction committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

A native of Norfolk, Neb., Battey grew up in Omaha, served in the Army during the final year of World War II, and then earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UC Berkeley.

In 1951, he joined the California Bridge Department as an engineer working on freeway bridge projects throughout Los Angeles. Later he became an engineer with the Portland Cement Assn., an industry trade group.

In 1963, Battey became an engineer with Smith-Emery Co., an independent building materials testing and inspection company based in Los Angeles, and worked his way up to chairman, chief executive officer, president and major owner.

He developed many construction testing methods that have become industry standards, and was honored as a fellow of both the American Concrete Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Battey is survived by his wife, Betty; five children, George III, John, Barbara, James and Joseph; a sister, Ruth Ann Frazier; and eight grandchildren.

A public memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at the First United Methodist Church in Burbank. The family has asked that instead of flowers, memorial donations be made to Providence Saint Joseph Foundation, 501 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91505.