Bill Vardoulis held many distinguished titles throughout his public service. He was the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

in the late 1970s. He has held the post of President of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, served on the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, Director of the County Sanitation Districts of Orange County, and on the Orange County Transportation Commission. An engineer educated at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, he later received a Master Degree in Engineering at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and an MBA from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. Vardoulis promoted the visionary plan for toll roads in 1980, which have now been nearly completed. He recently proposed a concept for an 11-mile transportation tunnel under the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by th ...

that would connect the 133 Toll Road in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

to the I-15 Freeway in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

. The roadways would actually include three tunnels which could also carry rail traffic, a water transmission line, high-voltage transmission cables and other uses. Transportation agencies in Orange and Riverside Counties have done preliminary review of the concept and have put it on hold due to the potentially high cost at this point. He served as Vice President of Church Engineering, a Civil Engineering firm, prior to its sale in late 1992. He then founded BV Engineering where he served as CEO until its sale in 2004. Vardoulis has received numerous awards, most notable the Irvine Citizen of the Year presented by the Chamber of Commerce, and the Visionary Award presented by the Transportation Corridor Agency for his planning for the Orange County Toll Roads. Baseball was Vardoulis' favorite sport. As a boy, he sold newspapers at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. He always remained a devoted Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Bill Vardoulis died on September 1, 2021. He is survived by his wife Debra, two sons, and grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardoulis, Bill Mayors of Irvine, California Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American engineers University of Pittsburgh alumni California State University, Long Beach alumni